Belonging
by Mr.Fury
Summary: When Hiccup finds a dragon in the woods, he starts to doubt everything he was taught and lived for. A story focused on Hiccup and Toothless.
1. Chapter 1

**Author note**

 _There will be no further author notes after this. For anything feel free to send a PM._

 _English is not my first language and I apologize in advance for any grammatical mistakes._

 _Story guideline:  
_ _\- keep the characters as close to original as possible, without rehashing the movie too much._

 _Disclaimer: I do not own HTTYD._

 _I hope you enjoy..._

* * *

It was hot in the forge... which some would say is expected when you work around red hot metal all day. Heck, it is always hot in the forge, but that isn't why I want to get out of here right now.

I mean, I love the forge. The available tools and materials combined with my skills make anything possible... As much to the village's misfortune that is. Today however, everything seemed to work against me. First of all, I was out of ideas. Well there was my self launching bola launcher, but the prototype had been done for some time now, waiting to be tested on the battlefield. Then there was also the line of people waiting outside to get the most boring tasks done, like having their swords sharpened. Why can't people just do that themselves anyway?

Yeah unlike most days, I was just dying to get out of here. And it showed. My work was noticeably more sloppy than usual. Sloppy enough to get Gobber attention.

"Hiccup, yer having a bad day lad?", he said with a somewhat caring voice you'd not expect from any viking his size. "Gobber, can I finish this later?", I replied motioning at the pile of broken melee weapons waiting to be repaired. "I mean, the last raid wasn't that long ago, we have time".

I could see the disapproval on Gobbers face, the bulky shop owner always put his forge first. As I was awaiting Gobbers speech about me not helping enough, I was pleasantly surprised when he actually allowed me to leave early.

"Aight, clean your station and go, but those weapons better be done by tomorrow or I'm locking yer back-room for a week"

As soon as I hung the last sword on the wall, I quickly made it back home. As I opened the large front door I was silently praying for dad to be busy with his chiefing. Today luck seemed on my side, the house I share with my father was cold, a sign that dad had not been here for a while.

Most Viking men in Berk have wives who would keep themselves occupied at home, but I couldn't even remember my mother. Gobber once told him she was taken by a dragon during a raid, but my father would never tell me about her. The only reminder of her existence I had lost, it was a small doll shaped like a nadder. Which according to my dad, she had made for me herself.

I grabbed my notebook and pencils from upstairs and quickly made it out the back door into the forest. I always love to hang out in the forest, I feel at peace in it. No one bothering me, no exhausting work at the forge and the ability to do whatever I feel like without being judged. However, I would never go too far; I am well aware that I'd probably be dead getting lost in some unknown part of the island.

* * *

Flying, one of the best things about having wings on your back. I just love to fly endlessly and to let all my troubles slide.

Right now I was flying away from the nest I live in. I hated the place, but it had been my home for many years and the only place I would not have to live alone.

Unlike most of the dragons, I am not controlled by the 'queen' of the nest. Every so often the queen will order the dragons to attack one of the nearby two-legged nests for food and on rare occasions I go with them, but unlike the others, I will not be forced to go. The queen has no control over me.

Most of the other dragons remain on the island during day, but I just love to get away from it all every now and then. After flying for some time and clearing my mind, I saw an island nearby and decided to rest for a little before going home.

I know this island pretty well, it's one of the islands most frequently attacked for it's many resources.

As I was flying over the forest of the isle, I could see a two-legged walk underneath me, now usually I wouldn't care and move on, but something caught my eye. Usually they would carry a metal claw as a weapon, they carry it either on their back or on their side, but this one seemed to be unarmed. Also, this two-legged was really thin compared to others of his kind.

There was something off about this.

The two-legged are such strange creatures, they call themselves Vikings or more specifically humans. And for each other they have something called: 'names', a short praise to refer to each other.

Interested in what the human was up to I decided to land nearby and follow it on foot. My black scales blending in perfectly with the shadows and my movement so silent it was impossible for a human to notice.

Suddenly the human... boy it seemed, stopped and looked around, for a second I thought he might have noticed me, but then he continued over to a nearby boulder and sat down. He took out some of his human tools out and started doing something with them. It bothered me how I could not see what he was doing with them, his body blocking whatever he was holding from my view.

Some time passed and the human still hadn't left. All he was doing is making small movements with his paw and looking down at something in his lap. Every now and then he would look up and then down again.

After moving closer to see what he was using his paws for, I finally understood. The human was using a charcoal stick to draw strokes.

I decided to lay down lazily on a large tree branch nearby and observe the human from there, the branch bend slightly under my weight, but not enough to alert the human. As I continued to observe this strange, but fascinating human, I noticed how the at first random lines started to look like the clearing we occupied.

The humans have these really complex paws that can move in the strangest ways. They use their paws for pretty much everything. They make their shelters with them, they carry objects around with them and they seem to have this weird obsession of touching everything around them with their paws.

The sun was starting to set and it seemed that the human had finally finished; the charcoal lines now representing an almost exact replica of the forest clearing we were in. It was really quite beautiful...

As the sun was setting, announcing the dark soon to come. I inwardly cringed... How long had we been here? The others back at the nest must be wondering where I went. It would probably be smart to just return in the morning and pretend I never left the nest.

With that in mind I decided to search for a place to stay the night. Apparently the human had similar thoughts as he packed his things and started on his way back. He was so weird. The other humans that sometimes roamed the forest usually did some form of labor like chopping down trees or hunting, it was like he didn't even come from the viking settlement.

That night I found residence in a small cave located high on the single mountain of the island. I could see the torches burning in the human nest below. A very relaxing sight I must say. Not feeling sleepy, having rested a lot earlier, I decided to just sit there in the mouth of the cave and watch for a while. Just as I started to feel drowsy I could hear a loud draconic screech coming from the direction of village.

So much for sleep…

* * *

It was very early in the morning.

Many loud screeches sounded as large swarm dragons could be seen breaking through the clouds above.

It didn't take long for the draconic screeches to be accompanied by the many Viking horns signaling a dragon raid taking place. Within a moment notice all hell burst loose. Vikings came pouring out of their houses weapons in hand and escorts were being organized getting the youngest and oldest of Berk to the great hall where they would wait out the attack.

It actually took Hiccup some time to wake up, maybe he was finally starting to get deaf from having his father yell at him all the time. Waking up went a lot faster when he noticed what was happening outside. It didn't take him long to get his clothes on and run downstairs. As he opened the front door he was welcomed not all too friendly by a monstrous nightmare sending a huge blast of fire his way. He quickly shut the door and ran out the back. The fire brigade would probably extinguish what remained of the front door.

He had actually looked forward to this dragon attack, apart from all the destruction, it meant he could finally test his bola launcher 2.0 on a live target, with the calibration issues of his first version now fixed, he would surely take down a dragon. Maybe even a night fury, but the night furies luckily don't always show up.

As Hiccup was running towards the blacksmith shop he saw the perfect spot on a small hill to place his weapon, now all that was left was getting it there. He had it stored in his small room in the back of Gobber's shop. Oh wait… Gobber, he totally forgot, if Gobber wasn't fighting the dragons he would never allow Hiccup to just run off.

As Hiccup ran inside the smithy he was indeed greeted by the village blacksmith…

"Nice of ye to join the party, I th't ye'd been carried of", he jokingly greeted his apprentice.

"Don't mind me, just passing through", Hiccup replied trying to get past the larger Viking, only to be picked up by his prosthetic hook.

"Oh no, ye don't", he said as he threw a dulled sword in Hiccups arms. "t's time you do yer part. Now get sharpenin".

So much for testing bola launcher 2.0…

* * *

Unlike the other dragons I don't really feel like fighting the Vikings, but I still decided to team with my fellow dragons and help out by taking out the Viking's defenses where needed. The Vikings are always very frightened upon hearing my charge build, probably because they would never know what I am aiming at, combined with the fact that they would not be able to see me and can't do anything to stop me.

Truth be told, I don't really mean to hurt the humans. I sometimes even help the ones that can't defend themselves, I do so by keeping the other dragons of their back. However they probably see all dragons as evil and blood-lusty creatures. Although, I never really intent on killing humans, there might have been a couple of unlucky casualties caused by my actions. Which is to be expected when you get shot at by a creature as powerful as a night fury.

I might not be actively trying kill them, but I don't like them either; the Vikings are smelly and loud creatures who for some reason think extremely highly of themselves. Which is laughable when you can kill most of them with just one simple blast.

After seeing a gronkle get hit by a boulder launched from a large catapult positioned on a stone tower to the side of the village, I decide it had to be dealt with

The massive catapult is one of their most effective weapons against the attacking dragons and they apparently know, even though the catapult has been destroyed countless times, they keep rebuilding it making small improvements. This time they seem to have decided to make the foundation from rocks instead of wood. True, it would resist the fire of most dragons, but it stood no chance against my powerful plasma bolts.

As I let my charge build I could see the expressions on the faces of the Vikings below me turn into that of true terror, and a familiar warning could be heard.

"NIGHT FURY"

"GET DOWN"

As my charge reached its full potential, I took aim at the large catapult and fired.

Although I didn't expect anything else, the catapult didn't survive my fatal blow to its foundation and started collapsing in on itself. This would be one of those moments where my actions would probably lead to a casualty as some of the Vikings on it would now be forced to jump into the icy ocean below with little chance of survival.

Deciding that was probably enough for today, I decided to circle around and observe the battle happening below me.

As I was looking around, I spotted the human boy from earlier. He was running through the crowd with some kind of strange contraption in front of him. I watched him run over to a small hill slightly away from the battlefield and 'deploy' his strange contraption.

* * *

After Gobber left the shop to help in the chaos outside, I decided to also abandon my duties and get the weapon I was dying to try. After I pulled it out of my little back-room, I ran outside dodging the massive crowd of fighting Vikings and made it to my designated spot.

Deploying my weapon was easy, I designed it so you would only have to pull one lever and it would be good-to-go. Now all I had to do is aim it and pull the trigger.

"Come on, give me something to shoot at, give me something to shoot at", I muttered to myself while aiming at the now suddenly empty sky, maybe this spot was too isolated from the battle.

Then I saw something, well I didn't really see anything, but something was blocking the stars from view and it started coming this way fast. I aimed slightly in front of it and I pulled the trigger.

The weapon gave a loud snap and pulled to the left making the bola fly towards the fighting crowd, effectively hitting a deadly nadder and effectively trapping it.

I let out a breath I didn't notice I was holding. At least this invention had actually managed to harm a dragon instead of some unfortunate villager, but I would still have to figure out what went wrong firing it. As I turned to look at my weapon, I was greeted by the monstrous nightmare from before.

I let my arms drop to my sides, this was just my luck.

"Oh hey, you again"

* * *

I was really disappointed; the human boy I had spent the entire afternoon with, the one human who I thought might be different, just attempted to shoot me out of the sky. Well maybe the human hadn't known of my presence last day, but still it had felt like this one human would be different from the Vikings around and I actually developed a strange interest in him.

I looked back at the human boy whose weapon had managed to get a pitiful nadder stuck in a net. I also saw how a nightmare was advancing on the human. Now usually this would be a perfect example of when I would help a defenseless human, but then again this one had just tried to shoot me down, letting my sadistic side take over I decided to only intervene at the last possible moment, letting the nightmare chase him for a bit. When I felt like the situation had spun out of control I made a low swoop and picked the human up by its fake-skins before taking off again.

"HICCUP", I could hear the village alfa male yell after me.

"DAD", my passenger yelled back while trying to cling on for dear life. Wait... dad? This was the alfa's offspring?

Apparently this huge man who was somehow also this boy's father probably thought I was taking his son back to the nest like the livestock the other dragons stole. While I was actually rescuing his son from certain death by an angry nightmare.

While flying back to the clearing I first found the boy last day, I listened to the constant pleading of my passenger. He had to be absolutely terrified.

Not much later I reached the clearing, from here he would probably find his way back when the sun starts to rise again. Hovering closely above the ground I dropped the boy in the soft grass below.

Just as I turned to leave, I could see the human get to his feet, however it didn't take long for him to faint fall back to the ground.

Deciding it was probably not the safest place for a nap, I dragged him over to the side of the clearing before taking my position in the tree again making sure I didn't help this human just for him to get eaten by a pack of hungry wolves.

Looking after a human was the last way I expected to be spending my time tonight.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up feeling extremely cold, reaching for my blanket my hand was met with . . . grass? I bolted upright and wiped my eyes from sleep. I looked around me, I was in the forest? More specifically the very same clearing as yesterday afternoon.

Did I seriously fall asleep while drawing? That had never happened before. I noticed none of my tools or even my backpack was with me, which combined with the fact that drawing wouldn't ruin my clothing the way it was did not make a lot of sense. The shoulder part of my vest was torn in multiple places and I felt a slight pain in my left shoulder, whatever caused the torn clothing had also slightly scraped my skin, but it would heal. Heck it isn't even worth going to a healer for.

After quickly checking myself all over, I couldn't find any other injuries. I did however find a single black pebble on the ground next to me. After closer inspection this wasn't actually a pebble, it was a scale... A dragon's scale. Then it hit me, either I was still sleeping, or my nightmare had actually taken place.

But why was I here of all places? If a dragon had captured me, wouldn't I be long dead by now and if a dragon had somehow lost me, wouldn't I have plummeted to death?

Deciding to figure it out later I began my trip back home. The village must miss me.

After a forty minute walk I finally arrived at the side of the village.

Walking though the village, it was like the people hadn't even known of his disappearance. Well most people anyway. I mean, some of the disappointed stares were now replaced with surprised ones.

Soon, I found myself before the large –slightly toasted- front door to the house I share with my father. I had my hand on the door knob, but before going inside, it would be a good idea to come up with a reason for being away. Or rather anything I could say to my father.

I slightly opened the huge door and peeked inside, my father was silently sitting in front of the fire in the middle of the house, staring into it. Had he nothing better to do? Looking closer, I noticed how the huge Viking actually looked miserable. This was new to me, his father's features usually represented tiredness, disappointment or anger.

Deciding there was no way around it I pushed open the large door casually walked inside.

"Hi, dad"

* * *

He had yet to leave the house today, yesterday his son was carried off just like his wife had been all those years ago. It had taken him months to get over the death of his wife and now history repeat itself. The gods must really have a bone to pick with him.

The village would survive a couple of days without his supervision. Gobber would probably relay some orders from him.

Staring into the fire in front of him Stoick was thinking back on the time spend with his son, the small boy who had so much in common with his mother. The boy was born way too small and he apparently never recovered from it. It was a miracle he even managed to survive as long as he did. Even making him work in the forge didn't help making him look like a proper Viking.

I never really told my son how much he really meant to me, Vikings don't do that.

The door opened and I was about to tell whoever was standing there to go away when I heard a very familiar voice.

"Hi, dad"

* * *

I watched as my father stood up very slowly, as if moving faster would make me vanish. The features of my father's face were changing rapidly from sadness to surprise to anger to relieve.

"Hiccup?", he said in an almost soft voice.

I did not move, any second now the surprise would die down and he will start his angry yelling again. I started counting, when after 10 seconds still nothing happened I just had to break the silence.

"d-dad hold on, I can expl-", I was stopped by my father picking me up and almost squeezing the life out of me getting the strongest hug I've ever gotten.

"You are alive", it was more a question than a statement. "Th' beasts took you . . . how?".

"Dad, I don't know, I kind of woke up in the forest and went home", I told him. "Everything happened so fast, I can barely remember".

"I th'ght I had lost you, just like your mother…"

I was shocked to say the least, dad never mentioned my mother. Every time I would ask about her, he would change the subject, but now he was the one to mention her first.

"Sit son, you deserve to know what happened to her."

It had been so long since I had a proper conversation with my father. The old man never seemed to open up to me, but now he was just pouring it all out. In my years growing up Hiccup this was all I ever wanted, but I always went to Gobber when I needed someone to talk with, Gobber always seemed more like a fatherly figure to me.

The conversation had steered away from the subject of his mother and they were now discussing what had taken place last night.

"Dad I am serious, I actually hit and trapped a nadder last night", I couldn't help but say with a hint of proudness, my father just gave me a blank look. "I hit it just left of the food storage, I'm sure it has been captured".

"Maybe Gobber was right", dad said: "I can't seem to stop you, son"

"It is decided; you will be joining dragon training!"

"Really?", I asked stunned.

Getting into dragon training was something to be proud of, only those who proved to be worthy were allowed into dragon training. I had always wanted to join dragon training, that's why I made my crazy inventions like the bola-launcher. It was my way of proving my worthiness to the hooligan clan, sadly without success so far.

"You will need this", my father dropped a medium sized axe in my hands. "you start tomorrow; I will inform the others"

"Don't disappoint me son"

* * *

I had watched the other recruits train many times, but now I would not be standing on the sidelines, I was to actually go in and learn to fight. I was excited to say the least, this was all I ever wanted, but I couldn't help but feel frightened too. I wasn't just afraid of the lethal blood lusty dragons habiting the arena, I was also afraid of the other recruits. The other teens my age have never really accepted me.

That night I couldn't sleep. Tomorrow I would finally be on my way to become a true Viking, a warrior. I would finally be able to make my father proud. I had looked forward to this moment ever since I could talk, it was like this was everything I ever lived for.

I had always been a disappointing; from the moment I was born. Even if I wasn't accepted into dragon training, I surely wouldn't have been the first, but I was the heir to the chief and there were high expectations of me.

When walking through the village, the villagers always face me with annoyed expressions, either that or I would just be ignored. To say I am not popular in the small village was an understatement. Most people wouldn't even greet me.

The sun was already up when I woke up that morning, but the sun had very little to do with it. I was probably woken by the extremely loud banging on my door.

"WHAT", I yelled at my bedroom door which was somehow still connected to the wall.

"Get yer lazy ass out of bed, yer trainin starts today", my father's booming voice could be heard from the other side of the door.

Oh god I must be late, damn, I really had to invent something for this. Something to wake me up at the right time.

I threw off my bed covers, put on my clothing in record time and took my new axe leaning against my bed.

I stormed down the stairs and just as I wanted to open the front door my father stopped me.

"If ye don't eat you will never grow muscles. Training hasn't started yet, get something first"

After grabbing a quick bite, I bolted out of the front door.

Running as fast as my legs could take me I ran towards the training arena. Whose idea was it to build the arena so far outside the village anyway? As I crossed the long bridge connecting the arena with the rest of the island, I could see the other teens just now entering the arena, I would not be that late, maybe a minute behind tops.

As I stumbled into the arena out of breath, the others were already waiting patiently in the middle for today's training instructions. '

The arena is a fascinating place. It is basically a giant pit dug out from a large sea stack, it was large enough to have the dragon 'pens' along the side of the ring's wall. And a overhanging net made from metal chains to stop the dragons escaping.

"What dragon are we fighting today Gobber?", asked Fishlegs

"Today we are fighting no dragon, today we will be practicing our agility", Gobber replied; getting frustrated looks from all the teens. "Oh, and I want you to meet our newest recruit", Gobber continued excitedly as he pointed towards me; still panting from my long run.

The entire group of teenagers turned around and their frustrated faces turned into annoyed ones.

"Oh great, who let him in?", Tuffnut was the first to speak.

"Wait isn't he supposed to be dead?", Snotlout was next.

"Gobber this is not funny", Astrid chimed in.

It didn't really bother me, I had never been popular with the other teens, as long as I could remember Snotlout would always bully me by throwing rocks at me behind my back or pushing me around. He was often accompanied by the twins who loved to join in. Astrid would never participate, but just ignore all of it including me, acting like I wasn't even there.

"Oi, no one is joking", Gobber fought back; while the other teenagers apart from Fishlegs just kept looking at Hiccup in an annoyed way. "Hiccup managed to trap a nadder and escape after being taken by a dragon, you will treat him like an equal".

"Now stop yer sulkin and let's get started"

* * *

I was absolutely exhausted after practice, todays training existed of running countless laps in the ring and clearing an agility course. It was made to prepare us for the next training where we would be facing off against a nadder.

I had done pretty bad, while I am pretty fast, I did not last as long as most of the other and was soon behind multiple laps. However, I was not even the worst, Fishlegs also wasn't a great runner.

I had wanted to join training for a while now, but after this first experience I already felt out of place. I wasn't expecting to get along with the others better when in training, but after the events of last raids I expected at least a little more respect. In the ring I was going to be target practice for the dragons.

Coming home I noticed how dad had cooked dinner for once, it was usually my thing to cook dinner. Not because I was told to do so, but because I couldn't stand eating the terrible over-cooked food my father made.

As I sat down at the table and was about to take my first bite of a piece of chicken when my father suddenly fired up a conversation.

"How was dragon training son?", he asked.

"Dad, I'm going to be honest, I don't think I am ready yet, that's wh-"

"Nonsense son, you will do just fine", I was cut off.

"I'm going to die if I have to fight an actual dragon", I fought back: "Dad I want to leave dragon training for now".

I could see the anger on my father face as soon as I had said that.

"Hiccup-", he tried on a normal tone, trying to mask his rage. "No dad, I am done with this", I said as I picked up my plate and went for the stairs leading to my room.

"YOU WALK AWAY AND YOU WONT GET A SECOND CHANCE", it boomed from behind me, it took one day from being presumed dead for my father to start yelling again.

* * *

When I woke up the morning after dragon training, I felt exhausted. In the last couple of days more happened than in the last few years of my life.

I sat down at my desk and opened my sketchbook; each of the drawings bringing back a memory. I stopped at his latest entry, the forest clearing near raven's point. It brought back so many unanswered questions, it was almost like I was brought back there on purpose.

It was decided, I would visit the clearing today and check if I missed anything; heck it was not like I had anything better to do. The forge would survive without me being there. Gobber will probably be wondering where I went, but he is one of the few people who would be able to understand my situation and didn't mind if I take a day off.

I started packing my things. Some food, my sketchbook -just in case- and a small survival pack in case anything might happen.

After packing my stuff, I walked out the back door and directly into the forest. Sometimes I feel more at home here in the forest than I do in the village. When I was younger I considered running away many times, but knowing how hard it is to actually live out in the forest for more than a day, I never got the courage to go through with it.

I finally made it to the clearing, it was pretty far from the village and there weren't any good paths to take either. Arriving at the clearing, I began my search for anything out of the ordinary, any clue as to what happened.

The first thing I noticed was a track on the ground, it looked like something had been dragged along the forest ground. I remembered the dirt stuck to the back of my vest. Something had actually dragged me to the side of the clearing. Judging by the footprints, it wasn't exactly light either, this was definitely done by the dragon.

Had the dragon spared him? Had the dragon thought he was dead and just left him there to collect later? Did I actually escape?

I got a feeling of dread in my stomach, maybe the dragon was still around. Maybe it wasn't from the nest.

Even with the present danger I couldn't stop my need for answers. I checked the area around the clearing. It was silly to think a dragon would attack me, it would have done so the moment I walked in the clearing.

* * *

After a good nap, I woke up midafternoon. After stretching I decided to go for a fly. The sky was nice and clear, perfect weather for a flight. I picked a random direction and set off.

After having flown for a while, clearing my mind, I couldn't help but notice how close to the Viking island I was again, the island was the perfect place for a break before heading back. As I flew over the island looking for a suitable place to rest I spotted some sort of cove near the clearing I last left the human boy.

I landed in the cove and looked for a nice spot to relax.

This place was great, the cove would be hard to find from the ground, so I didn't have to worry about any of the Vikings from the nearby village. There also was an average sized lake in the middle in which she could see small bubbles facing the surface, a sign of fish habiting it.

I was just sitting there enjoying the view when I heard some shuffling above me. I spr-

* * *

As I as checking the area around the clearing I saw a tree with a couple of claw marks on them, but they were too small to be made by a dragon. With my focus on the tree I stumbled over a rock. Looking at the offending rock I noticed it wasn't there anymore, however I did hear a small dull impact sound, that's when it hit me that I was standing on a ledge with a 25 feet (~8 meter) drop after it.

Did I just almost walk off a ledge?

Looking over the ledge I found a beautiful cove. I was so glad I took my drawing tools with me, I scanned the walls of the cove, there had to be a way down. Not far away, there was a place where I might be able to climb up and down the rocks.

Climbing down proved to be easy, when inside the cove I looked for a good spot to sit, there was one spot still lit by the sun. That's when I saw it. A large black mass was laying on the grassy floor. I quickly hit behind a nearby boulder. When nothing happened for a minute I took a quick peek again, whatever was laying there had not moved. It was a dragon, a black dragon. The wings laid sprawled next to it, like it was sleeping.

I took my knife hidden under my vest and slowly stalked toward the seemingly unconscious dragon. Coming closer I saw a rock next to the dragon. Did I just accidentally take out another dragon?

With a little more confidence, I walked over to the dragon. I took the scale I carried with me out of my pocket and held it next to the dragon. It was a match.

This could be my first kill, an unknown dragon. That was just what I needed, my life would get infinitely better, but it almost seemed like the dragon had spared my life before. Mistake or not, it had not killed me. I was at a loss at what to do.

Deciding to think it over, I took a closer look at the dragon in front of me. It had a very sleek design. One of the wings laid sprayed out and it was clear this dragon had a great wingspan. The dragon's paw had sharp claws which looked like really effective killing tools.

Not sure what to do, I took the small amount of rope in my survival kit. It was just enough to tie up the tailfins, front legs and muzzle.

It was time to get some answers.


	3. Chapter 3

The first thing I noticed was a terrible headache. I opened my eyes, slowly adjusting to my surroundings. It was almost evening and the sun was about to go down. How long have I been out? In front of me I could see a small fire, I don't remember making one of those. Upon closer inspection it seems to be a human made fire, which are basically just collections of burning sticks. Not to mention there was a human sitting next to it.

Oh shit.

I immediately tensed. I tried to jump into an attacking position, only to find that my legs are bound together. The human must have noticed my struggle as he was looking my way.

"Here goes nothing", the human muttered to himself.

The human stood up and carefully walked my way. Did this puny human really think his silly vines would hold me? I reacted on instinct and gave a threatening growl at the human. When did this not stop him I figured the vines would have to go. Turning to look at them I couldn't burn them off considering my muzzle was bound.

The human was getting way too close for comfort now, I trashed my body around in an attempt to get rid of the offending human string. I must look pathetic, but it worked. My legs got free and I quickly used my claws to get rid of the vine around my head. I jumped to my feet. Letting out a deadly growl.

"Nononono, wait!", the human tried while holding his arms towards me.

The human was desperately looking around for an escape. Seeming to have found one, he did a quick glance my way before turning around and making a run for a small passage between the walls of the cave.

Running off after trapping me? Oh no, I don't think so mister. I quickly gave chase. The human had not even gotten halfway across the cove before being smashed violently against the ground by my tied up tail.

The human laid face down in the dirt, before turning around and trying to get up, only to have my paw holding him down with way more weight than necessary. The human looked towards his escape while using his paws in a desperate attempt to push mine off. I could basically smell the fear radiating off of him.

Giving up, he looked at me, our eyes locked, in them I could see the haunting fear and regret, but nothing malicious. . . wait nothing malicious?

After a long staring contest, the human was first to do something.

"D-d-don't hurt me, let me g-go", he pleaded.

I released a tiny bit of pressure from his chest, but still held him down firmly.

"W-what do you want from me?", he asked.

 _"I'm not the one who knocked you out and tied you up"_ , I replied.

"I- I don't know what you want", he said as I just gave him an annoyed look.

"You u-understand me?", he tried.

How did this silly scrawny human expect me to answer that? Thinking about it for a little, I remembered the Vikings giving a little head bob when agreeing. Deciding it being my best bet I gave a short nod.

"I-if you let me go, I won't hurt you, we can forget this ever happened", he said.

Did he really think he could harm me? Thinking about it I placed my paw off his chest and next to him. Allowing him to get some air and sit up.

 _"Remove these vines and you may leave",_ I said to the human who just looked at me confused.

Annoyed by the human's inability to understand me, I smacked him slightly with my bound tailfins.

"Oh, y-you want them off?"

 _" No. I want you to stare at it"_ , I replied sarcastically.

The human seemed to understand, but instead of undoing the vines, he casually reached for something underneath his vest. Following his every move I noticed a metal claw holstered underneath his vest. Before the human reached it I intervened quickly.

I quickly grabbed his arm with my maw, biting down hard enough to pierce his fake skins. While the human screamed thinking I would bite off his arm, I used my claws pry his weapon lose. Tearing up the part of his fake skin I managed to make it fall off, deciding to get rid of it I kicked it away hard enough for it to fall into the lake of the cove.

"I-I-I mean n-no harm, I need it to for the r-rope", the human said while trying to remove his arm from my maw. He did have a valid point, but I still did not like the idea of sharp objects near my precious tail fins, especially not one held by a human.

Not sure what to do with the human I gave load roar in his face, that would teach him to mess with a night shade. Convinced that I scared the human enough I moved away from him holding my tail above the human camp fire so the vines would burn off.

It started raining just as I was about to leave. Well that just totally ruined it. Apparently the human noticed it too. He finally got over his shock and sat up.

The rain was getting worse fast and I noticed the human looking my way desperately. What did he want now? He had his eyes fixed on something next to me. Looking next to me I saw the human's storage bag.

The human would never make it back to his nest, he would probably get lost in the forest not being able to navigate in the dark. His only means of survival was probably contained in his bag. Deciding the human had had enough torture for one day I moved away from his bag and decided to seek a place to wait out the coming storm.

* * *

I just laid there for what had to be at least 10 minutes. I was sure the dragon was going to kill me, probably in the worst way imaginable, but instead it poured all its frustration in the most terrifying roar ever.

Why I am still alive, I haven't the slightest. Tying up the dragon had to be the most stupid thing I have ever done. The rope didn't even last 5 seconds.

I would have laid there for another hour if it wasn't for a couple of raindrops landing on my face. I opened my eyes and noticed how dark clouds were quickly headed this way. Just great, first I get attacked by a dragon and now I am going to have to camp out in the woods.

I sat up and looked towards my little campfire which was now battling the quickly worsening rain. Next to it was my backpack and a black dragon . . . this day could just not get any worse could it? Why didn't the dragon leave yet, was it not done with me? The dragon seemed to notice my stare and looked towards my backpack. For a second I was afraid it might destroy or take it, but instead the dragon moved a couple of steps back.

Why was this dragon behaving so strange, I was sure this was the same species as the dragon that captured me during last raid, but again it showed no interest in actually killing me? Still, I did not trust the vicious beast one bit.

The dragon looked at my bag and then to me in an expecting way. Deciding it being my only option, I stood up and scuffed towards my bag, my every movement being followed by the gaze of the dragon who looked at me with half slitted eyes. The rain was getting worse by the second, it was too late to build a simple shelter.

With the bag in arm reach, I took it and carefully moved back. By now the fire had died by the constant assault of rain. I remembered a reasonably sized cave in the wall of the cove from when I was waiting for the dragon to wake up. It would have to do for one night.

Putting enough distance between me and the apparently non-hostile dragon, I quickly went for the cave.

Berk's night are cold. Knowing this the first thing I had to do is make another fire. Making a fire was one of the first things you learn as a Viking youth. Using some wood collected from just outside the cave I tried to get a fire going. The wood being wet did not help at all.

As I was struggling with the fire, I felt like I was being watched. Looking around I saw the dragon standing just outside the mouth of the cave. It's scales being coated by the rain now pouring from the skies.

"uh, you wanna come in?", the words accidentally left my mouth. I mentally slapped myself, did I seriously just invite a dragon inside? As soon as I asked, the dragon actually stepped inside, I quietly cursed my luck.

The dragon positioned itself at the other side of the cave and breathed a ring of blue fire underneath itself before laying down on top and slightly curling up, its head resting on his forelegs facing me.

Deciding my best course of action was not to anger or annoy the dragon, I resumed my work on the fire I was making. After another ten minutes without any success I let my arms drop to my side and looked over at the dragon. I could swear it was looking amused by my failure of making fire.

I really did need that fire, being slightly wet and in a stone cave with little protection from the cold, the night would get really uncomfortable without it. That's when a crazy idea popped up in my head. I could persuade the dragon.

Looking at the dragon I noticed its gaze never left me. The trust issues must be common between us.

"Look I'm sorry about before", I said, "I don't want to bother you, but you breathe fire and I really need to light this", I gestured towards the annoying heap of wood.

The dragon looked at me once more before turning towards the fire. Expecting it to just ignore it, I was surprised to hear it charge a blast. Not just any blast; It was the most feared sound known to any Viking. The sound of the invisible dragon that would shoot with extreme accuracy and with the most destructible blast of any dragon.

On instinct I tried to make myself as small as possible.

The dragon didn't let its charge build long however. It shot at a small bolt of blue fire at my makeshift campfire igniting it immediately. It took me some time to recover from the scare, but at least now I had a source of warmth. It all made sense now, the black scales and the inability to recognize what the dragon was. This was a night fury, not one Viking has seen this dragon up close. Then it hit him, he was actually the first to see a night fury. . . and he was still alive for some reason.

"Y-You", he didn't know what to say.

"Night. . Fury", he tried again, "Y-you are a n-night fury?". The dragon confirmed his dreaded question with a nod.

Knowing I would probably not get any sleep tonight sharing a cave with a night fury, I tried to relax a bit by turning my attention away from the dragon and instead watching the flames of the campfire dance around.

I didn't manage to keep my mind of what had happened for long however. It was just too much to take in. Considering the somewhat non-hostile behavior of this particular dragon, I was now sure that it was the same dragon that had taken me during last raid and left me in the forest.

It was interesting the dragon choose a place he had been at so recently to drop him at.

The entire point of tying the dragon up was to get answers, thinking about it, he should have just killed it right there and then, but for some reason he was really glad he didn't. now he at least finally got some answers although a little vague. All this was just a little too much to take in. From the time he was born he had been thought that dragons will always go for the kill and here he is sharing a cave with his tribe's biggest enemy.

* * *

After doing a quick check from outside it seemed like the cave the human had found would be best place to stay. I was standing just outside of it, thinking what to do about this situation. I could chase the human away or I could let him stay here too. . . Just as I was thinking it over the human made an unsuspected move.

"uh, you wanna come in?"

Really? Did the human really invite me in? I was a bit taken back by the human's actions. As I just stood there, I could feel the rain assaulting my scales. Against my better judgement, I went inside the small cave and found my own spot opposite of the human. Breathing a nice warm and cozy circle of fire, I laid down facing the human, making sure he would not try anything.

The human looked like he had just made the biggest mistake of his life. It was funny in a way. The human then went back trying to light his pile of wet sticks. Watching the human struggle making even the simplest fire was amusing, but I couldn't help but feel a little bad for him. He was so fragile, no sturdy scales protecting him, no inner fire to warm him and not even sharp enough teeth or claws to defend himself with. The humans made up for these mistakes of nature however. They make their own metal claws, they make their own armor and they had this really slow way of making fire.

However, I had gotten rid of this human's metal claw and he was wearing no armor. He was sitting there next to his mortal enemy. I felt kind of sorry for him, so when he asked me to help I did not mind. I did not expect my fire to scare the human as much as it did, but then again, it is pretty much the most awesome blast a dragon could have.

* * *

Looking at the dragon again I noticed how its eyes were closed, was it sleeping? Did the dragon actually trust me not to kill it while it was asleep. Well considering it understood him, it would also be able to reason that I could have killed it before any of this happened.

The evilest dragon known to his tribe was sleeping right in front of him, he could end its life right here and now, but then again the dragon also had that option before and it had spared him not even once, but twice now.

I hated to admit it, but the dragon known for chaos and destruction looked really peaceful sleeping like that and I hated to admit even more that it looked kinda. . cute.

Deciding I might never get a chance like this again, I took drawing tools from my backpack and started drawing the sleeping monster.

* * *

I woke up feeling extremely relaxed. It was early morning and it was light enough to see in the cave, even for human eyes. Looking around I found the human asleep. I must have been the first to fall asleep. How could I have been stupid enough to fall asleep next to a human. However, it was different in a way, I almost felt like something was pulling us together. Most other beings would not get to meet me a second time, but I had met the human boy way too many times.

Next to the sleeping human boy laid a small -how do Vikings call it again?- book. I carefully snuck up to the human and used my front paw to move the book closer to my side of the cave. I was not careful enough however, I slightly hit the humans arm in the process.

"Five more minutes' dad", he sleepily mumbled. righttt.

After successfully moving the book to my side of the cave, I tried to get it open. Without human paws it seemed to be impossible however, scratch that, it is impossible. Giving up, I moved the book back to the human peacefully sleeping on the unforgiving hard cave floor.

I slightly nudged the side of the human, but he still managed to sleep through it. All I got was a sleepy "a little longer". _"stop sleeping",_ my beautiful voice must have worked, because his eyes shot open at the sound of my voice.

* * *

Damnit why couldn't my dad just leave me alone. "a little longer" I tried. I did not hear what he responded because it didn't even sound human. It sounded more like one of the locked up dragons from the arena. I quickly opened my eyes, only to be met with large green draconic eyes looking back at me. I did not breathe for at least 10 seconds before noticing I was holding my breath, had the dragon saved me for breakfast?

Apparently not, seeming content with me being awake, the dragon moved back a little allowing me to sit up. I looked the dragon up and down once, trying to figure out its intentions. Between its front legs was something very dear to me, my sketchbook.

The dragon used one of its paws to move the book towards me. While looking at me with an expecting gaze. I carefully picked up the book and opened it on a random page. It was a drawing of the forge from the outside I had made from memory once. I looked at the dragon who was studying the drawing with immense concentration. "you like it?", I asked looking at the dragon. It looked back at me before giving a short nod.

Well that was a first. Most people don't appreciate my drawings at all. I slowly browsed the pages of the book trying to keep the dragon satisfied. When I came across the drawing of the clearing I stopped, the next picture would off be the dragon itself. "I hope you don't mind, the next one is of you. You fell asleep yesterday", the dragon said something in return, unable to understand it, I just turned the page.

The dragon looked at the page, and back to me, then to the page again aaaaand back at me. Getting more excited by the second. Not sure if this was a good sign, I gave the dragon a smile. The dragon looked at the page again before looking back at me making a weird attempt at a human smile. It l looked kind of funny. I noticed how the dragon didn't have any teeth. "No teeth? You're toothless? But you ha-", before I could finish my sentence way too many teeth suddenly shot out of their respective gums, before disappearing again.

Huh, cool.

Testing the water, I put my hand on one of the dragon paws, I was surprised when it did not pull away or attack me. All it did was look at me curiously.

"I will call you Toothless from now on, please don't kill me?"


	4. Chapter 4

Toothless? That little brad, how could he? He was really testing my patience here. As I was looking the human up and down trying to think of the worst name possible, it came apparent that I really suck at naming others, it might have something to do with dragons not really needing names.

"I'm Hiccup", he spoke stopping my train of thought.

Hiccup? HAHAHHAA, oh my god. Hiccup really? The human… no Hiccup seemed a bit taken back by my reaction. I thought Toothless was a terrible name, but Hiccup?

"I'm not kidding you know", hiccup said. _"What can I say? The name suits you"_ , I replied.

Why would anyone name their offspring such a terrible name? "They used to tell me horrible names ward off gnomes and trolls, but I know I was named Hiccup because of my appearance", he explained. "I was born a lot smaller and during the coldest time of year, they thought I wouldn't survive".

"What makes you so different?", he suddenly changed the topic. "We are supposed to be at each other's throat, I mean you have killed countless of Vikings".

I never really meant to hurt his people, but the human doesn't understand me, so explaining it would be pointless. I haven't really thought about it; did I actually trust him? Due to my own stupidity, Hiccup has had 2 chances to kill me by now. Both times he either didn't consider it or decided against it.

I looked him directly into the eyes. The color in them was similar to mine, only slightly darker. I -and dragons in general- could read a lot from others. Their stance and expression sending many signals about their emotional state.

Looking at Hiccup I could read a lot of negative emotions. Mostly I saw loneliness, but there was also sadness and a hint of anger. It was not all negative however. Judging by the loneliness the human must not be popular amongst his kind.

Perhaps I could help the human, I did not mind his presence I somewhat felt comfortable around him. We could perhaps be friends. I have never heard of a friendship between dragon and human before. IT had never even crossed my mind.

Taking care of a human wouldn't be easy however. And the hu- Hiccup probably won't consent to come along. We just stood there looking at each other for what seemed like forever. When Hiccup slowly stretched out his arm towards me. Not quite sure about allowing a human to touch me I pulled my head back a little.

Hiccup didn't seem to be having many friends, well neither did I, but all dragons around me were mindless, controlled by the queen. Hiccup was probably rejected by his kind. It would be nice to have someone to call a friend, for both of us.

Deciding it would be an interesting change. I gently put my snout against his hand.

 _"I trust you"_

* * *

I was about to pull my hand back when I felt it connect with something scaly. It was like a little shock went through me. It had been so long since I had someone trust me like this. It was ironic how a dragon -Viking's worst enemy- was nicer to me than the entire village combined.

Speaking of which, if anyone back at the village hears about this, I can't even imagen the consequences. They will probably exile me or worse sentence me to death for treason.

I should probably head back now, dad must be wondering where I am and Gobber will probably be mad at me for not coming to work. As much as I didn't want to leave here, getting found by a search party would be waaay worse, if they even bother to send one.

"Toothless, I need to go", I swear I could see a hint of sadness on his features. "I really enjoyed our time together bud". With that I gently scratched his nose and started on my way back. Behind me I could hear a silent croon. "you wanna come with"?

The walk back to the village was rather uneventful, well apart from a dragon casually walking besides me. It gives a sense of security knowing that whatever crossed your path would be no match for you... well... for your dragon friend.

Heck he was walking next to the most lethal dragon known to exist and he was feeling save.

If only someone like snotlout would walk by now.

Getting close to the village it was time to part ways. It would be a really bad idea to walk into the village with Toothless trailing me. "I guess this is where we say goodbye", I turned to Toothless. Unable to resist I closed the distance between us and gave Toothless short a hug around his neck. "It's how we humans say goodbye to someone we like".

After the quick goodbye Toothless spread his wings. Compared to the other dragons they were pretty darn large. He crouched down slightly before launching himself up with pure elegance and inredible speed. Creating a blast of wind on the ground.

After standing there for a couple of minutes looking in the direction Tooyhless went, he finally continued on his way to the village.

Coming from the forest the chiefs house is one of the first, standing on the highest point overlooking the village. Which is great, because I didn't feel like seeing other people right now.

As I entered the house, it seemed that my father had not been here for a while. I went upstairs and looked out of the window. The village seemed unusually empty. I looked at the smithy, there was smoke coming from the chimney meaning gobber was working. He would probably know what's going on.

As I was making my way to the smithy, I heard someone calling behind me. "hey useless!", great it was Snotlout, "you weren't at training today, you chickened out? ", he said in a mocking tone.

If I run to the smithy now I could make it before Snotlout gets here. Dealing with him is the last thing I wanted to now or ever. As fast as my legs would take me, I ran towards the smithy. I wouldnt allow myself to be tackled again while running for my only escape.

Instead of going through the door I jumped through the smithy's window. Bumping into the big viking shop owner. He barely moved, but still looked down at me. "Oi Hic, I th'ght you went with the search", he joked. Before his face turned more serious, "Wher hav you been, work dosnt do itself ye know". "Oh you know, working on some designs... and what search Gobber?".

Gobber turned to look at me. "Ye haven't heard?", he asked: "Most of t' warriors we't, including your father. Now get workin, there is much to be don".

While working in the forge time flys by, what can I say, I like working at the forge I mean its a lot better than most of the other jobs around and I even get the space to work on my own creations plus Gobber is one of the few people who I can always rely on to make my day.

It was long dark outside and i was getting hungry, hanging my apron by the door I said a fast bye to gobber before heading to the great hall where everyone is eating at this hour.

As I entered the great hall the first thing I noticed was the amount of poeple there, with most people on the search for the dragons their hideout. The hall felt really empty.

Like usual, I took some of the available food and found myself a nice and quiet place to sit in the back. As I was sitting there I thought about everything that had happened. I had done what noone thought possible.

It still felt unreal, the dragon not killing me after breaking free, spending the night in the same place as a dragon.

Toothless, heh. the name was just so wrong for the most dangerous dragon alive. Yet it just felt... right.

I could tell that Toothless didn't really appreciate the name. As soon as the name has left my mouth, his eyes turned slightly thinner, making him look way less harmless. He was looking at me up and down with them like I was prey.

"I'm Hiccup", I said not liking the way the dragon was eying me.

It didn't take long to sink in. Toothless's reaction could only be described as dragon laughter, which is great. It doesn't even take a Viking to mock me, even dragons feel the need to. Admittedly however, it probably is one of the worst names you could have as a Viking.

I was so deep in thought I didn't notice someone took the place in front of me at the other side of the table.

"Hey useless", well so much for a nice and quiet meal. In front of me was Snotlout… again, god he always chooses the best times. "You fucking dare run away again", he threatened giving a small kick under the table. "Why weren't you at dragon training?", he asked. "Since when do you care", I fought back. "Wrong answer", he said slamming his fist on the table.

"Yo Snot, what's going on", Tuffnut called from one of the surrounding tables. "You know, family business", he yelled back. "You got lucky this time", Snotlout said so only I could hear before standing up and going to the other teens.

For some reason I felt way more confident than usual. I never really talked to my cousin like that, usually I was a lot more careful.

Finishing my meal, I went home. Outside it was raining again. The house was extremely cold from the absence of fire all day. It would probably take about two weeks for the remaining ships of the search to come back. My father didn't even say goodbye or wait for my return. It's almost like he fled the island.

Without my dad around I was basically free to do whatever I wanted, I was able to do anything the next two weeks. For now, a night in a proper bed and a good night's rest was all I really wanted.

It had been a while since I had a good night sleep, no worries, no yelling. Everything just great. I wonder if this is how most people sleep. All of this happened after befriending the dragon, It's almost like I'm a whole new person. Is this what I was missing? I should try to find Toothless again.

When I woke up the next morning, I decided to go look for Toothless.

Packing my stuff again, I took a bit more preparation for another forest trip. Heck the last few days I have practically been living in the forest. This time I'm going fully prepared. Instead of my usual backpack, I took one of the large baskets also used for fish and put anything that might come handy in it.

Walking through the forest I wondered if would ever find Toothless again. The dragon could make itself practically invisible. However, that was during night time.

The forest ground was still wet and muddy from last night's rainfall. It was a really long walk to raven's point and by now my shoes were all muddy and wet on the inside, nothing I couldn't fix, but still unpleasant.

Arriving at the cove I went directly for cave I had spent the night before. It was one of the few dry places left to sit. I put down the pretty heavy basket and sat down in the mouth of the cave just taking everything in. I love this place; it really is something special. I wonder if any of the other villagers know about it.

Hungry from the walk, I decided to get something to eat. Included with all the other things I took with me was enough food to last me at least a day or two. Some dried meats and bread. I am not much of a cook myself to be honest.

I was about to take my first bite when heard the heavy flapping of wings nearby. I walked out of the cave expecting to find toothless only to see a different dragon having arrived in the cove.

Shit…

Luckily the dragon hasn't noticed me yet.

As I backed up into the cave trying to be as silent as possible I stepped on one of the many twigs scattered across the forest floor.

The dragon; a Deadly Nadder by the looks of it, snapped its head in my direction. I noticed how it's pupils thinned upon spotting me. With nowhere to go I was basically trapped in the cave.

Why do the gods keep punishing me like this?

I looked at the dragon again, it was getting ready to charge. Oh great not this again. I was about to run when I heard the familiar whistling sound of a night fury charging a blast fill the sky.

The Nadder looked around confused before it looked at me again with what I could swear was hate in its eyes when a blast struck the ground in front of it creating a huge explosion. Not thinking twice, the Nadder made a hasty retread and took off.

That better be toothless.

Just to be sure I stayed in the cave, if it wasn't Toothless maybe the dragon would not think to look for me here and attacked the Nadder for a different reason.

A black figure stood in front of the cave, yet I couldn't really tell whether it was Toothless or not. "Toothless?", I carefully asked the dragon in a loud whisper. When I got a happy warble in return I could just feel the tension leaving my body.

"Y-you didn't leave?", I asked as Toothless made his way over to me while saying something in his draconic language. I sadly couldn't understand Toothless, but judging by the pitch of his noises and body language I could somewhat guess what he was trying to tell me.

When Toothless sat down on his haunches in front of me looking at me expectantly. I just couldn't resist. Like before I just hugged him around his neck, him returning it by bowing his head down slightly. "Thanks not leaving bud".

* * *

"Thanks for not leaving bud"

I was happy to see my human friend again. I was not so sure about the whole "bud" thing however, could Hiccup not tell the difference between male and female dragons…? He apparently thought I had left after our last meeting, but I honestly actually like hanging around him. He made me feel needed. Something I haven't felt in a while.

It is a shame he doesn't understand me, it would be something we have to work on, but Hiccup is smart so maybe he will eventually figure something out.

Hiccup still had his arms wrapped around me. It was nice, I have never actually see any other dragon do this, it probably is another human thing.

It was interrupted when Hiccup made a small growling noise, only it didn't come from his mouth. I backed up a little. _"What was that about?"_ , I asked as Hiccup looked at me amused. "Don't worry bud, just hungry from the walk that's all".

Note to self: Humans make growling noises when hungry.

I would have shared some of my most recent catch, but Hiccup had brought his own food it seemed.

While Hiccup was eating he told me about what had happened while I was away. I was right about him. He did not get along with most of his kind that well. He told me about his cousin who also had a really stupid name. And what had happened the day before.

"So that's why I decided to come here today", he finished his story.

The rest of that day we mostly just hung around the cove playing random games. At one point I stole his backpack which I hid somewhere. It was amusing following Hiccup trying to solve the mystery of the vanishing backpack.

Occasionally I went for a flight. I still had to get food and it is good to stretch your wings once in a while. Actually I loved being in the air way more than on the ground, but I liked hanging around Hiccup about as much.

It was getting late now and Hiccup should be leaving if he wanted to get home while it was light in the forest. I nudged him with my tail and pointed in the direction of the cove exit. "Actually tooth, I was thinking of staying here tonight", he said giving me a soft smile. "unless you have other plans".

How can I possibly turn that down?

* * *

Staying the night with Toothless would be awesome. Toothless seemed to think the same. Just as I had suggested it I got assaulted by Toothless licks and saliva. "Toothless, plea-" I tried. "Okay, okay, I'm glad you like it". "Just.. Please, tooth, no more".

Of all the things I expected, getting coated by a layer of dragon saliva was not one of them.

It would be dark soon. Deciding for a much better prepared night this time. I went looking for some firewood in advance. I had actually packed some cloth this time as well. Sleeping on the cold stone floor was not something I wanted to experience again.

Collecting more than enough wood, all that was left was to light it. Once again the wood was far from dry and would be a real pain to get alight. I wanted to ask Toothless again, but he was nowhere to be seen. Probably off getting food or whatever dragons do when they are flying.

It was almost completely dark outside when Toothless got back. Without the sun, temperatures will drop really fast. "Hey bud, you mind lighting this?", I said to Toothless when while he was making his way toward me.

I wasn't really afraid of Toothless's fire breathing anymore. Heck it was amazing when not used to kill you. It took toothless about 10 seconds to make a pile of wood go from wet to on fire.

I wrapped one of my cloths around me to stay comfortable. And Toothless laid down beside me, his body slightly curled around me. I was amazed by the amount of warmth coming from my dragon companion which -considering they breath fire- was not too surprising.

"You know toothless, I'm really glad we met", I said putting my hand on Toothless's head. He kept facing the fire, but his one visible eye was giving me full attention. Subconsciously I started giving gentle scratches with my hand. I only noticed when I noticed a low kind of purring noise coming from next to me.

"You are one of the best things to happen to me in a long time"


	5. Chapter 5

When I woke up early that morning, which is really unlike me. I managed to open my eyes only to find it was still dark. Without much thought I tried to shift in another position so I could continue my sleep, but my movement was restricted. I was held by something I could not recognize... wait what? Still drunk from my sleep I tried to remove my blanked, but instead was met with nothing?

That's when my entire bed moved. Now usually it would be hard to get me awake, but this was just too unusual. Expecting my mind to play games with me, I explored the space around me with my hands. The texture of everything felt extremely familiar.

That when it hit me. Scales.

I was a steady sleeper, that much could be said. But apparently while I was asleep, toothless managed to keep me hostage.

"Tooth", I asked still extremely sleepy. What time was it anyway? When I got no response from the lazy dragon I asked again only slightly louder: "Bud please wake up".

Still nothing.

This must be how most teddy bears feel. I tried to break free from my constraints only to have Toothless hold me slightly tighter. Great… I really did not have the energy for this right now.

Giving up I just laid back, feeling more awkward than ever.

* * *

Part of being one of the best species of dragon was always being top of the game. Sleeping however was one of my few exceptions. Being gifted with the ability to fly, most of my napping time is performed on places common predators are unable to reach, there is literally nothing better than unbothered slumber, seriously, you should try it.

Today however was different, I actually spend the night on ground level, god that's been a while.

Once I am awake however, there is pretty much no going back. It just takes some time to start the engines. Just like this morning. I looked around, outside the first light of day could be seen. Inside the cave however it was still dark. Dark didn't really bother me, actually I don't even need light to see.

As I was looking around something felt oddly out of place.

Camping site – check

Hiccup's stuff – check

Hicc-

Hiccup? I looked around further, he was gone. However, his scent was not. "Toothless, this is not funny", sounded from… me? That's when whatever was within my paws started moving. It literally scared the crap out of me. I threw my paws out making my catch fly right against the cave wall.

After a quick recovery, I checked to see what happened only to find an unconscious human laying on the ground. Well that resolved itself rather well. Still how had all this happened to begin with?

Setting my priorities straight it was clear that I had to make it so this never happened. Well that and checking if Hiccup is ok maybe. I could hear him breathe however, meaning he is probably fine.

I carefully dragged Hiccup back to his cloths he had around him the evening before. When I got him there, the position he was in looked extremely uncomfortable. Of course, just as I was trying to correct this final issue, he started to wake up.

 _"Mornin"_ , I tried. "My head, it feels like it's about to explode", was what I got in return. _"Good morning to you too"_ , I mocked him a little.

"Bud… How long have you been standing over me like that?", he questioned while giving me a suspicious look.

"Oh and by the way, please don't kidnap me in my sleep".

Damnit… he remembered.

Feeling a little uncomfortable I went to get breakfast. "Good morning by the way", I could hear from behind me as I was about to take off.

* * *

As Toothless left on another one of his flights, I knew it was time to think some things over. Meeting Toothless has been an amazing experience thus far, but how long could it last. At one point someone is going to find out, it's simply unpreventable.

I mean right now it's all going fine and well, but when dad gets back he will start asking questions with me being out in the forest as much as I am now. And it's not just dad, work in the forge doesn't do itself either.

Would it even be possible for me and Toothless to keep seeing each other or would this be one of the shortest friendships ever? It wouldn't really surprise me however, it has been proven to me time and time again that making friends is not my strong suit.

Then again, Toothless could fly.

Toothless had carried me before when Berk was under attack, maybe leaving with Toothl- nah that is crazy. Getting away from the village is no problem, but living on my own… well with Toothless out in the wild would be way more difficult. Camping out in the forest for a night would be nothing compared to that.

Then again, with Toothless around my life would be a lot less miserable.

Living in the village would sure be an easier way of live, but what is more important? Living easy or living happy? And even then, that easy way of live would stop. Considering I am heir to the chief one day I will have to lead the village. I can already see the disasters happening when that day comes…

Yet, running away with a dragon I just met and who I considered an enemy not so long ago would be crazy. Sure being with Toothless is great, but what if he decides I am not worth it and runs off. Then I will be out on my own in the middle of nowhere.

All and all whatever path I choose to go down, none of them really lead to a bright future.

I shook my head, all these gloomy thoughts… it was way too early. So like any other person I went to get some breakfast.

My supply of food was getting pretty low already bearing in mind I have only been here for one day. Oh well, there is only so much you can take with you. I took some bread and found a nice place outside the cave to sit.

The grass was still a little wet from the morning dew, so I choose a small boulder to sit on. The cove really is beautiful. Especially now, with a couple rays of sun not blocked by trees shining through the slight mist.

As I sat there enjoying my food, Toothless arrived making an impressively elegant landing for the speed at which he approached. If I had to make a guess, he probably got his own breakfast. Well, there was water involved that much could be said by looking at the very wet dragon.

* * *

As I was walking towards Hiccup I couldn't help but notice a sad look in his eyes. I slowed my pace a little, not sure what was going on.

"Hey Tooth, we need to talk", oh no. Not sure how to handle a sad Hiccup I just sat down next to him and slightly put my right wing around him. "We have to stop seeing each other bud", he said looking at the ground.

 _"What do you mean stop?"_ , I asked in return not caring if he understands me or not. _"Why would you say that?"_. "Bud, don't get me wrong, it's not you. I just can't stay away from the village like this. People will find out and I don't want to think about what happens when they do".

With Hiccup I had finally someone I could relate to, but I could reason with what he said. How did I not see this coming? I could not go back to the dragon nest now. The queen was anything but stupid, if I go back there she will know her power doesn't control me… The entire nest will turn on me.

This entire project backfired big time.

If Hiccup leaves… I will have no one.

While Hiccup was explaining himself, a crazy idea popped in my head. It would make my problem his however. I wasn't really sure about this, but I'd do anything to get Hiccup to stay. It even surprised me a little how fond I had gotten of the human in the short time we spend together.

I pushed Hiccup off the small boulder to get his attention and slightly bend down exposing my back. While motioning for him to get on.

"You want me to sit on your back?", he questioned to which I responded with a nod. "Why?", I rolled my eyes before flaring my wings once. "I don't know about this bud".

Time for plan B.

As Hiccup tried to get back on the boulder, I quickly went through his legs successfully getting him on my back. In a reflex Hiccup automatically held my neck to stay balanced. "toothless what ar-", taking my only chance I pushed off launching us into the air.

Hiccup was probably scared out his mind by now. Well, it was very audible by his amount of screaming and by the way how he held on with way more strength than you would expect from him. He was almost strangling me

After getting some height I continued in a slow but steady straight flight. After all, I did not mean to torture my passenger. Speaking of which, I looked back at Hiccup only to find him clinging on for dear life with his eyes closed.

At least the screaming stopped. I didn't blame him however… although it was kind of his fault. If he had not suggested for us parting our ways, I would have not even considered this.

"We are flying, aren't we", it sounded behind me. _"Yes we are, isn't it great?"_ , I replied evenly sarcastic. "Toothless how coul-", he stopped… Why did he stop, was he ok? Did he pass out? Looking behind me again it seemed not. He looked back at me with his mouth slightly hanging open.

 _"You ok?"_ ¸ I asked slightly concerned by Hiccup's behavior. If Hiccup was too pass out or panic now I would be able to catch him sure, but my entire plan would be ruined.

"Bud… This... this is amazing"

* * *

Flying with Toothless? it was hard to resist, but if anything goes wrong it would kill me for sure. As much as I wanted to try, staying alive was probably better. With that in mind I declined Toothless's offer, he would understand, right?

I was about to return to my breakfast when toothless put his head between my legs making me slide onto his back, just as I registered what happened, Toothless launched us into the air. In a desperate attempt not to fall I locked my legs under Toothless's wing joints and hung on to his neck with all strength I could muster.

I did not dare to open my eyes, but I was well aware we were flying. I could feel the extremely strong muscles underneath me working to get us higher. And I noticed my ears locking, I honestly wasn't sure how much more of this I could take. Luckily for me Toothless choose that moment to finally stop our ascent and level off.

"We are flying aren't we", I stated the obvious. What I got in return I could only decipher as a confirming sound. It probably wasn't the best idea to annoy the dragon who was the only thing keeping me alive at this moment, but I couldn't help and get slightly angry with him.

While demanding an answer, I finally found the courage to open my eyes.

Wow…

We were currently flying just underneath the clouds. Looking down I expected to be sick, but instead I witnessed the isle of Berk from a whole new angle. It was amazing. Simply breath taking actually. The entire forest was visible from here. In the distance you could just see the village.

Not long after, we arrived at the village. It's amazing how a 40-minute walk from the cove to the village can be flown within 5 minutes. And still I am sure Toothless was taking it slow.

Arriving at the village was even more amazing. The entire thing was alive like a giant ant-hill. You could see everything happening. People at the docks moving barrels of fish, others still fixing damage from last dragon raid and a small crowd of people waiting at the forge making me feel a little guilty for Gobber.

I didn't get to enjoy it for very long however. As quick as we arrived we also flew past it. Actually way past it… we were headed for the open waters with absolutely nothing in front of us. I did trust Toothless to know what he was doing, but when even Berk wasn't visible anymore I could not help but start to worry.

"Toothless, this is beautiful it really is, but shouldn't we be getting back now", I asked feeling slightly helpless. Yes, I felt absolutely powerless, this definitely was a bad idea, we were getting way too far from Berk now.

It didn't take long for me to lose all sense of direction, with nothing around us but the ocean it was very hard to keep track of exactly what way you're headed. And Toothless shutting me out completely wasn't exactly helping.

After flying over the open water for who knows how long I could see another island in the far distance, at this point I really just wanted to know where we were, but I did not recognize the island, not that it mattered anyway, I tried urging Toothless to land, with no avail, the stubborn dragon showed no intention of landing any time soon.

"Okay Toothless time to go back", I tried again. I felt pretty angry at the stupid dragon right now, but as much as I wanted to vent it, upsetting Toothless might not be the best idea, with me not having any chance of getting home without him, you know.

The original awe of flying was also starting to wear off, being absolutely unprepared for anything like this I started to notice the chilly temperature combined with being constantly assaulted by the cold wind. As much as I didn't want to show the dragon any misguided affection, I pressed myself against his back, shielding me from the wind. It was interesting how warm toothless back was, I mean, it would make sense with toothless being a fire breathing creature and all, but it was still surprising.

* * *

I did not need to see Hiccup to know he was anything but happy right now. He didn't really voice it, but in his endless whining about going back I could hear it by his tone.

Honestly I felt bad for ignoring him, but what other option do I have? I really did want to land on the last island just to let Hiccup down, but it was too soon. Right now it's important to get out of hunting range of the nest, which means Hiccup would have to endure this quite a bit longer.

It was a relieve when he figured I wasn't going to give in to his pleas, at one point he even seemed to relax a little pressing himself against me. I knew he would love the freedom of flying… although there wasn't a lot of freedom in it for him right now.

I was on my way to the island I often use to visit before meeting Hiccup, It's my go-to place for getting away from it all. I consider it my island, but I can't really keep watch over it. All that could change now… We could live there!

The island is not very big though, big enough to fit a reasonable forest with some wildlife. However, it is smaller than both Hiccups island and my previous home. Oh and by the way it has a small mountain. It was just perfect for me.

"Bud, I'm begging you, can we please stop?", apparently Hiccup also finally noticed the island. By now it was just afternoon, meaning we had flown all morning. A reasonable first trip right?

I started getting ready for landing, located along the side of the mountain is my 'hangout', a cave unreachable from ground unless you can somehow manage to climb up the side of a very steep mountain or have wings.

I flew in making a perfectly smooth landing. As soon as we came to a stop Hiccup jumped off, however as soon as he reached the cave floor he collapsed. I rushed to help him, but he was already getting up on his own strength. I'd rather have him down however, his face showed anything but happiness when he got up.

"Toothless what- wher- you can't do this!", was the first thing he said. Honestly I was surprised by the way he was masking his obvious rage. "I- I can't disappear like this, people will think I'm dead", he continued. I didn't really react to it. Honestly It would have been scary if this didn't happen.

While Hiccup rambled on about how they need him back at his village and he needs to go back I decided to check my lovely home for any changes since my last visit. I was happy to see it in the same state I left it in.

After finishing my inspection, I faced Hiccup again. _"You can be happy here",_ I interrupted him. I really don't care he doesn't understand, it just had to be said. As much as I understand Hiccup's need to go back, he has improved so much ever since I stepped into the picture and while he might not know, I sacrificed my place in the nest for this.

We can make this work, I am sure of it.


	6. Chapter 6

"What are we doing here Toothless?", I said looking at the dragon who seemed way more interested in watching the view from the cave than listening to me, "We should go back when you're rested, we can make it before dark".

We had not been here for very long, but the cave was anything but cozy. Everything in the cave felt cold to the touch. That wouldn't have been a problem if I knew we were taking this trip, but I was seriously underdressed for anything like this.

Trying to keep warm I sat down against the cave wall putting my legs close to my body to keep me a little warm. Sometimes I really wish I didn't live here, I heard that when going south everything is a lot warmer.

I would have never thought anything like this would happen in my entire life. Meeting Toothless had been an amazing experience, but also a very risky one. Not only should I have died the first time the dragon took me away from the village, now I was completely depending on the dragon.

Want to leave? Sure, first climb down a deadly mountain side, then somehow manage to make a boat that makes it _all_ the way back to Berk.

Yeah, like that's going to happen.

While I am here I should probably enjoy it. I mean, up here with Toothless it's like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. No responsibilities, no one judging me; no dad yelling at me.

Yeah, my relationship with my father was anything but great, but I had accepted it. Sure it wasn't great, but my father is not the reason for my misery. My father is one of the only reasons I have to get back… when I was too young to remember, the dragons killed my mother, if I would disappear too, it would surely hurt him more than he'd admit.

Besides dad, Gobber would probably also miss me. The bulky Viking always seemed to accept me for who I am. In the shop my help is also truly appreciated. Heck, most of the villagers probably don't know that half their weapons have been through my hands for sharpening or other repairs.

Anyway, while I'm trapped here I might as well try to enjoy it. I moved slightly closer to the edge of the cave, just enough to get a good look outside.

The view from the cave was great, it gave a good overview of the forest below. The cove back at Berk was better though. With it being lower to the ground it is both warmer and more convenient for non-winged beings.

Speaking of warmer, the cold was really starting to pay its toll now. I lost all feeling in my toes and I could tell I am shivering. Toothless must have noticed it too, as he came walking over with what looked like a worried expression.

"I'm okay t-toothless, just… c-cold", I told Toothless who looked at me like I was a hard puzzle to solve. "Bud, we really should have brou-", I was stopped by Toothless putting one of his large wings around me and pressing me closer to him.

Once again I was really surprised by the amount of warmth radiating from the dragon, it was almost like sitting next to a campfire. It didn't take long for the shivering to go away, however as soon as I didn't feel cold it was replaced by hungriness… I didn't even finish my breakfast.

"Hey Tooth, this is great and all, but we really should get something to eat", I said making Toothless turn his attention from the view and look down at me. Just as I said that my stomach made a really short growl.

* * *

We arrived back at Berk a lot quicker than expected, the search for the nest had been a complete disaster. The ships were so damaged it was amazing they still made it back. As like most Viking trips a couple of souls were lost. Breaking the news would always cause a couple of tears, but it also fueled the fires and give the people the will to fight.

Once on the shores I was welcomed back by Gobber. Who joined me walking back to the village. We shared our stories, usually when I'm on a trip the council is in charge of the village, including Gobber, who always kept me up-to-date with the latest events. When we almost reached the village, there was just one question left to ask: "Did Hiccup cause any trouble?".

"Well y' see stoic, he hasn't exactly b'n around", Gobber's answer caught me slightly off-guard. The forge was Hiccup's escape. He hung out more at the forge than he did at home. As much as it didn't bother Gobber, something was seriously off, I could sense it.

When I finally managed to make it through the village -being constantly bombarded with questions-. It was time to confront Hiccup. I entered the house and called for him, but it was evident he had not been here for some time. Hiccup would always clean up the entire house when I was gone, but it was still as messy as before I left.

As unviking as it was, it was one of the many things I appreciated about my son. Masked by all the things I really did not appreciate.

I dragged my hand down my face, I really did not have the energy to go looking for Hiccup now, he would have a lot to explain when he comes home tonight.

* * *

After Toothless dropped me off in the forest below using his paws to carry me in the short trip down, I finally got some time to really stretch my legs. Eager to explore the island I went on a quest to find anything I might need if Toothless decides for us to stay here.

Speaking of Toothless, I could really do with some time alone right now. In an attempt to get Toothless to stop trailing me I asked him to get us something to eat. I was pleasantly surprised when he actually went his own way.

With Toothless gone, but hopefully coming back, I finally had some time to myself. My first priority was finding something to drink. Following the side of the mountain, so I don't get lost, I managed to find a stream going down the mountain relatively quick. The water was extremely cold, but that didn't bother me.

It's funny, not so long ago I considered this an option: Running away with Toothless, but now I am well aware that I don't have it in me to live like this. I am waaaay too used to the conveniences of living in a village.

After I got well hydrated, I went looking for some firewood, well anything I could carry back really. I did not want to spend the entire trip having to rely on Toothless for everything. Which I will probably end up doing anyway.

Before I even managed to get a reasonable pile of wood collected, Toothless made a return.

Considering the wet scales, we would probably be eating fish today… I actually haven't seen Toothless get anything besides fish since I met him.

"Back already?", I asked the dragon now circling around me. "So you find something to eat?", Toothless stopped circling me and stood in front of me. I had no idea what was going on but suddenly he made this gurgling sound before he spat out a half-eaten fish.

"Ewwww, Toothless what the hell"

It was absolutely disgusting, just the sight of it alone was enough to rid my appetite.

"You know what Toothless, you did all the flying, you should have that delicious thi- fish there. I'm actually not that hungry you see, while you were gone I found something else to eat", I lied. To top it off my stomach betrayed me and made another growl, all the while Toothless just kept looking at me expectantly.

"Tooth, I'm serious here, there is no way I am eating that…"

"Besides, I can't eat raw fish, I will get sick you see", Toothless just gave me an unimpressed look before blasting the fish with his fire for no longer than 5 seconds. The fish actually looking fairly cooked after which.

There was no way around this, well I mean… Apart from starving myself, which right now was a pretty solid option. "This is normal to you isn't it?", I stated. Letting out a sigh when Toothless actually nodded his head.

I picked up the fish and slowly brought it closer to my mouth. Everything inside me screaming for me to stop.

I took a small bite…

It tasted like… Fish. Actually, it was not as bad as it looked. Not that I'm a fan of spat out fish or anything, but I could actually live with this for one time.

After two more bites I was too disgusted with myself to finish it. I tossed it back over to toothless who didn't even try to catch it and just let it fall in front of him.

"Bud, you make a terrible cook."

"How about we go see where are?"

* * *

I already had the entire island wired, but it would only be fair to show Hiccup around. Considering he _kind of_ is here against his choice, but this time around we would do it properly. As much as I hate looking submissive, the only proper way to do this is having Hiccup on my back. So just like the first time, I lowered myself a little and motioned for him to get going.

"Oh no Toothless, I don't think so mister. Let's walk.", was his response. _"Awww, but walking sucks"_ , Hiccup narrowed his eyes a little. "Toothless… I have one condition. We are not off to some random island again, we just check where we are and return to the cave ok?".

I gave him a short nod to agree. We were definitely not walking, screw that.

"So Toothless, how do we…", he stopped for a moment. "You don't mind do you?", he asked. _"Just hurry up already"._

After some awkward struggling getting Hiccup in position, he finally managed to get it right. I looked back at him, _"Ready?"_

"Ready"

* * *

This time the takeoff was a lot less aggressive, actually, this time around I didn't even feel slightly scared. Once we got enough attitude I tried to steer Toothless a little, just to test what he would do. As I leaned left a little, so did Toothless.

This was so much better than the first time we flew, with Toothless allowing me a little bit more control it truly gave a sense of freedom. Not to mention that from up here everything just looked beautiful. If it was up to me we would keep flying forever, but with a couple of dark clouds headed our way announcing a change in weather soon to come, we should probably head back for our luxury suite, before my collection of firewood gets wet.

"Tooth, we should probably stay the night on this island", it was probably Toothless's idea to do so anyways. Toothless seemed to already have the entire island figured out. Perhaps that's how he found or rather knew about the cave in the first place.

Is this where Toothless is from?

Not much later we arrived back at the cave. Both of us carrying some of the firewood. It didn't take long for the rain to start, combined with a strong wind. Luckily however the cave was on the good side of the mountain so you could only notice the wind by looking at the forest trees swaying below.

With toothless breathing fire, we got our little campfire going in no time and with the rain clouds above it was dark enough to consider it evening by now.

I sat down next to the fire, Toothless laid next to me allowing me to lean back against him. I put my right arm around him making gentle strokes with my fingers.

It had been a while since I had a moment like this. With the rain outside and the warmth of Toothless and the fire inside, it could only be described as cozy. I felt completely at peace sitting next to probably the most dangerous being known to exist.

"Hey bud, I was wondering. How do you say Toothless in your tongue?"

* * *

It didn't take long for Hiccup to fall asleep. Not at all that I blame him, today must have been a long and strange day for him. Heck I was pretty tired myself.

The position in which Hiccup was sleeping looked kind of cute. His head resting on my left front paw.

As he was sleeping like that it just filled me with happiness, this had been all I ever wanted. Who would have thought that I would find someone to call a friend in anything other than my own kind? Heck, if I had not met Hiccup and someone would suggest a relationship between dragon and Viking like Hiccup and me had now, I would have probably considered killing them for being insane.

Hiccup and me meeting had been a one in a million chance however. I just so happened to fly over his island at the exact time he was alone in the forest and if it wasn't for our encounter in the cove none of this would have happened. I would still be around the mindless other dragons I call family out of desperation.

If it was up to me, this never had to change, but what I liked most about Hiccup was also the most troubling. Hiccup actually had his own view on things and his own wishes. Did he share the same feelings? Does our friendship mean as much to him as it does to me?

I could tell Hiccup was happy, actually he was doing a lot better now as when I first met him. It would however be very difficult for him to adjust to this kind of life. I wonder if he is even capable of hunting and getting his own food.

Feeling pretty tired I decided to get some rest as well. To make sure Hiccup doesn't get cold after our fire dies out I pulled him a little closer.

After a long time, for once, everything is just perfect.

* * *

We had to leave now. I saw the stormy clouds approaching and motioned for my dragon companion to leave, but I could already feel the first raindrops start to fall.

When we got up in the air it was too late, we couldn't fly high to avoid the rain anymore, I was already wet and the higher you go the lower the temperatures. The storm was pretty bad; the wind coming from the wrong direction to get home safely. We would have to set camp somewhere else tonight. This island was way too dangerous for that.

As we were flying over the open waters I could see a faint light in the distance, hoping to find land I steered us towards the light. As we got closer it looked like we were approaching an island. The light was higher than the island itself. Which is good, that meant there would probably be high ground and no one that could get to us.

The rain made it hard to see, but where there's fire during a storm, there's also shelter, with that in mind we went straight for it. Hoping that whatever the cause of the fire is not dangerous.

As we got closer, I could tell there was something besides the fire. A dragon by the looks of it. However, dragons don't usually sleep with a fire next to them. Although I don't really feel like it right now, I could deal with one wild dragon.

We flew right into the cave, alerting the resting dragon immediately. And boy was it angry. This might not have been such a good idea. I didn't manage to get a good look at the dragon yet, but I could tell by the very audible angry growl that it was anything but glad to see us.

* * *

I woke up by a sudden harsh movement pushing me to the ground. I would have screamed if it wasn't for the deadly growl Toothless was letting off. I had absolutely no idea what was going on. I wasn't entirely sure, but it seemed Toothless was standing over me blocking my view from whatever was happening.

With Toothless like this and whatever out there probably being dangerous enough for him to get upset about it. I kept quiet.

Well, I did until I heard a woman's voice.

"Calm down, we mean no harm", she said… wait what? We?

Deciding to see for myself I pushed against Toothless in an attempt for him to let me go. It didn't really help however. "Toothless, will you stop it?", I asked in another attempt to get the overly protective dragon off of me.

Toothless was still making his deadly growl, but he did allow me to slip away on his left side. When I got up I wish I could get back down there again.

In the middle of our cave stood a large dragon I did not recognize and next to it stood a person. My attention shifted immediately to the person. A mask covered her face with a couple of spikes going out of it. If I hadn't heard her voice, I would almost say she is another dragon.

I could not see her face with the mask on, but I think she was as dumbfounded by seeing me as I was seeing her. "Uhm…. H-hey?", I was first to speak.

Nothing… All she did was stare at me like I am a ghost.

Meanwhile Toothless seemed to pick up on something. He kept looking back at the mysterious person and me a couple of times looking kind of puzzled. Actually, so did the other dragon. That's when the other dragon said something in their language, which the woman seemed to pick up on.

"Who are you?", she asked in a cold tone. "I'm Hiccup", wait Hiccup? Out of all things I could have said, I actually choose my real name.

It was hard to read the person in front of me, but I think she was slightly shocked by my name. I mean, I know Hiccup is not really your average Viking name, but it isn't that bad.

"Hiccup? Hiccup Haddock?", she asked in a normal tone this time.

I knew I shouldn't have given my real name; this was bound to cause trouble.

When I didn't reply she tried again: "Hiccup, son of Stoick the Vast? From Berk?". Gosh this woman had me all figured out. "That would be me I guess…", I said as I put my hand on Toothless. Toothless looked at me with the strangest expression. At least the growling stopped. Actually, why did the growling stop?

The woman looked anything but comfortable. She must have been flying outside in the storm for some time.

"Look, I have no idea who you are or what you want, but you look really uncomfortable and... you know… there's a fire here", I said awkwardly motioning to the fire next to me.


	7. Chapter 7

This entire encounter had raised too many questions… again. Why couldn't for once in my life things be normal. Just as I start getting used to being accompanied by a dragon, something like this has to happen. Speaking of dragon, Toothless seemed to take the entire situation really well, the dragon who was lazily staring into the fire almost looked bored.

"Ehhh, so who are you?", I asked. Both dragons looked at me questioningly. The lady had yet to move at all, "I- I- my- ", this wasn't going well. "I can't tell you", she finally answered.

What was that supposed to mean?

Her dragon companion -apparently on my side- gave a clearly annoyed push against the woman as he grumbled something draconic.

"Cloud, I- I can't", she told the dragon.

I met Toothless eyes as I looked his way. "Bud can you make sense of this", I asked the dragon who pondered about it for a few seconds before responding with just a single nod.

Toothless was being very helpful.

It was still a little vague how it got to this, one moment I was sleeping peacefully and the next all of this happens. Was I dreaming?

Meanwhile the lady and dragon duo had their own little argument in the background… did the lady actually understand the dragon? By the way they spoke it really seemed more than just a one sided conversation Toothless and I share. "You understand him?", I asked fully turning my attention back to the lady. "Yes of course", she responded surprisingly casually, "Don't you?".

I shook my head no, a human understanding a dragon. Now that was a first. On Berk you would probably be exiled for even considering such a thing. I wonder if anyone back home even knows about this lady. But peace with dragons at the isle of Berk will never be possible, not with the frequent dragon raids going on.

I wonder what lead the dragons to attacking Berk, Toothless seemed to be doing just fine getting his own food and resources. Was Toothless even part of the dragon raids?

While I was letting my guard down a little, not minding our guests. Toothless decided to join in, saying something in his draconic language. It made me feel a little left out, being the only one unaware of what the hell they were talking about. Well it was pretty obvious, why was it such a big deal for the woman to introduce herself anyway. It's not like her name could be any worse than Hiccup.

Whatever Toothless just said proved to be working. The lady let out a small but audible sight, before removing her mask. And turning her attention back to me.

"Hiccup, there is something you should know"

* * *

Hiccup was definitely related to the other human now occupying the cave, that much could be said. It was still a little fuzzy how the other human was related however. No… Actually, it was pretty clear. They shared the same blood and judging by age and gender this was Hiccup's mother?

Which leaves the question: why is Hiccup acting like this?

"So, who are you?", I couldn't help but look at Hiccup in disbelieve as the words left his mouth. Just like his apparent mother who was also caught off-guard by the sudden question.

Am I wrong? Are they not related?

However, when the human dodged the question entirely it became pretty clear that this was not that simple. I know that Humans are not as great at judging character and recognizing the small details that I do, but Hiccup's mother was standing right in front of him and he didn't even recognize her.

That is seriously messed up.

I was so caught up in solving the small mystery that I forgot the dragon by the human's side. A Stormcutter was positioned next to her, it was slightly amusing the way the Stormcutter had to bend a little to fit in the cave.

However, the Stormcutter posed no threat, if anything I was invisible to the duo, who were solely focused at Hiccup. And they were clearly not on the same page about telling Hiccup the truth.

I felt a little sorry for Hiccup. He had no idea. I felt his gentle touch as he went to sit next to me. The look on his face was the strange mixture of hope and frustration. He knew that I had already figured it out. And trust me, I want to tell him… badly, but how would I explain this without words?

As I overheard the little argument between human and dragon, it seemed like the human had a basic understanding of dragon speech. That is something me and Hiccup definitely have to work on. I wouldn't blame him if our way of talking was impossible for him, I mean, his viking language is impossible for me too.

I leaned against Hiccup a little more, if anything, I just want to go back to sleep, but with two 'strangers' next to us, I couldn't stop my instinct forcing me to stay alerted.

 _"Should have picked another place"_ , I jokingly said towards the woman, getting a disapproving glare from the Stormcutter.

She looked my way, acknowledging me for the first time since Hiccups appearance. Just like everyone at this point, she seemed frustrated.

 _"You should tell Hiccup who you are, he needs you"_ , I told the woman who was starting to annoy me slightly. It would probably be good for Hiccup to be taught about dragons by someone as well 'adjusted' like his mother. With her basic understanding of dragon speech, she could surely help him learn a couple of our words.

She looked down for a moment, letting her shoulders drop as a universal sign of defeat, before returning her attention to Hiccup.

"Hiccup, there is something you should know"

Well that was about damn time.

She carefully pulled off her mask in a forward motion, revealing her middle aged human face. Honestly she didn't have that much in common with Hiccup, if I had just the looks to go on I would have never guessed.

She looked at Hiccup hopefully, as if she was silently praying for him to recognize her. "What should I know?", Hiccup impatiently asked.

"I am Valka… Your mother"

* * *

I wasn't quite sure how to respond. My mother? That was ridiculous. My mother died. People have seen her die. She died in battle, her body stolen by the raiding party.

She died by dragons.

I looked her dead in the eyes. I was able to take a lot being the bullied damaged being I am, but this woman was poking in all the wrong places. It was proving to be very difficult to stay calm this time. She knows my name, knows where I am from, how did she not know about the death of my mother.

"My mother is dead", I said. "She has been dead for as long as I can remember. Killed in battle by a dr-".

I stopped and looked at toothless. During all the time we had spent together, I glossed over how he was off the same species that killed my mother. I saw him in an entirely new light. Not as the friendly and somewhat playful dragon. But as the powerful dangerous natural predator he is supposed to be.

It was all too much for me to handle at once.

"you should leave", I said mostly to the lady. I really just wanted to be alone right now, also without toothless, but I couldn't just leave myself. Climbing down a wet mountain in the middle of a rainy night would surely kill me.

Even though I simply couldn't blame Toothless for this, none of this would have happened if we didn't go to this damned island in the first place.

"Let me expla-", she tried, but I cut her off, "Please. Just… Go".

To my surprise she made no more attempts to stick around. As she mounted the large dragon, she looked back at me one more time, her face covered by the mask once more.

"If you change your mind, you know where to find me", she said.

"Will I?", I asked in return. I had no idea where she was from.

"Well, she will", the woman said pointing to Toothless.

I looked at Toothless again, 'she'?

I was about to ask, but the lady was gone. I could only hear one more beat of her dragon's large wings.

* * *

I was a little disappointed to see the human woman leave. She seemed okay. Not that I blame Hiccup for reacting the way he did.

Hiccup was looking at me slightly confused, as if seeing me for the first time. "You are not a guy?", he asked. "I could have sworn", I could hear him mutter under his breath. "You know what, never mind."

He threw the remaining wood on the small fire and laid down his jacket on the floor next to it, laying down on it to protect himself a little from the unforgiving hard stone floor. His back turned to me.

I laid down next to him slightly putting one wing over him, to give him a little comfort, but he refused my offer and pushed me away. "Can I just be alone?", he asked.

I felt truly sorry for him, but there was little I could do about it. So with that in mind, I laid down at the other side of our cave finally getting some much needed rest.

I woke up in the middle of the night, unusual for me as I am a steady sleeper. The fire had died by now. But I don't need a lot of light to see. Next to the fire I could see Hiccup shivering, listening closer I could hear him sobbing slightly, a couple of tears going down his face.

I silently stalked over to him and once more covered him with my wing. He was cold… very cold. I pressed him close to me. There was no need for him to suffer, he has been through enough already.

It didn't take long for Hiccup to calm down, his breathing becoming steady and relaxed. Unconsciously he put his arms around me, holding me in a tight embrace. Hiccup could be so darn cute sometimes.

It is amazing how different from his kind he is, being the caring and generally nice person he is. It really bothered me how such a wonderful being was so full of hurt, especially now I brought him here away from the people who abused him.

He probably got that personality from his mother's side. We would have to seek her out again, she would be good for hiccup. As much as I wanted to help him, a human being with whom he can communicate and learn from was important for him.

It was amazing to find Hiccups mother also accompanied by a dragon. They had so much in common. I wonder how their friendship between human and dragon came to be. Hiccup said she was killed, but she was his actual mother, no doubt about it.

There was a lot to figure out, but tomorrow is another day.


	8. Chapter 8

Surprisingly I was first to wake up that morning. After dislodging hiccup and placing him back on his makeshift bed, well, his jacket dumped on the floor more or less, I did my quick inspection of our place.

Outside the weather was perfect. Last night's rain had cleared and the sun had just started to rise over the horizon. Everything was slightly wet from the morning dew, something I hate. With the cave floor slightly wet some parts were unpredictability slippery. Not the best circumstances for a person like Hiccup.

Everything was perfect for an early flight however. I checked on Hiccup again, who seemed pretty uncomfortable laying there on the stone cave floor. Today is perfect for him to get to experience flying again, I was all too eager to take him with.

I changed my mind about letting Hiccup sleep in and decided to wake him. After a few careful nudges to his side he finally started showing signs of life.

 _"how are you this wonderful morning",_ I asked the _very_ cranky looking Viking youth, who was still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. _"Let's go flying!"._

"mornin bu-Tooth", was all I got in a weak attempt to speak. Was Hiccup still upset? I guessed he would be better after a good night's sleep. _"Are you okay?",_ I asked.

"I'm fine, please just le-."

 _"Let's go flying"_ , I offered again, motioning at the beautiful view from the cave.

"Toothless I have no idea what are saying"

I slowly stretched my wings to their full extend, my left wing going over Hiccup. The tips of my wings almost hit either side of the cave. I flared them twice. Hopefully being obvious enough for Hiccup to know where I was going with this.

 _"let's go",_ I tried once more ignoring the language barrier. Hiccup would have to learn my language one way or another. Right now the most effective way was to just talk to him while expressing what I mean.

"Flying?", he asked. _"Well it's not like these are made for walking"_ , I nagged batting him on the head with my wing. "Let's eat something first?", he suggested as a lazy way to stay. _"If you don't get your lazy butt up, you will be my breakfast"_ , besides, it's not like we have anything to eat up here anyway.

"Fine, you win, let me ju-.. yep, okay, let's go"

Hiccup wobbled over me still sleep drunk, but actually managed to get on a lot better than last couple of times, it was still a little clumsy, but he was making good progress.

"Let's just pleeease take it easy okay"

* * *

I was still a little afraid of flying, as we set off from the cave there was a moment of freefalling to build up enough speed for Toothless to start gliding. I was glad we didn't eat yet or I would have surely thrown up.

However, the take-off was smooth; It is surely a great improvement that Toothless allows me more control during flight. With the amount of energy bottled up in the dragon I was afraid he… or she was going to go all out, but Toothless took it pretty easy.

As we flew once more, I didn't really care anymore where we were going, I was too busy admiring the never disappointing view from up in the sky.

"So Toothless, that lady yesterday… She called you 'she'. Is it true? Are you-", Before I could finish Toothless answered in his own language while nodding as if saying yes, making me fall forward by the sudden motion.

Ever since this morning it seemed that all our conversations were going to be 2 sided. And honestly I didn't mind. It just made me feel acknowledged.

I couldn't think of any reason, I assumed Toothless was male before. And I honestly didn't even want to know she wasn't, it just felt strange. "I just want you to know that it doesn't change anything", I somewhat lied.

The events of yesterday just kept popping back in my head. It was almost as if I dreamt it all. Was the lady actually my mother? I was told my mother died during a dragon raid by my own father, he told me not even that long ago when he finally opened up a little, but it bothered me that he never mentioned anything about her funeral.

There is an easy option to get all of these questions answered. I would have to seek out the woman again, the woman whom I after last night never wanted to see again. It is amazing how a good night of sleep can change your view on things.

She said that Toothless would know where to find her, I did believe her, I mean the lady seemed to know her dragons, but I still wondered how that would be possible.

Even if she was not my mother, a human ally especially one with such knowledge of dragons could be a real help.

In berk my disappearance must have been noted by now, even if the ships of the search party had not yet returned, I have my duties in the forge and I am commonly found around.

I wonder if going back to berk would ever be possible again. It would mean a very angry father and abandoning Toothless, it's not like I can hide a dragon somewhere on Berk for the rest of my life without anyone finding out about it.

The relationship Toothless and I shared was something no one back at Berk could offer me in a thousand years. Sure the dragon could be pretty dominant and bossy, but there is this weird feeling of mutual respect and understanding between us that I've never felt before.

And let's not forget, I was flying right now. How crazy is that?

Flying, while scary at first is definitely the most amazing experience I can think of. It is like the rules of the world no longer apply to me. Like I am released of all trouble.

The one thing I miss most has to be the forge. Sure I could try setting up a new one, but a forge without Gobber in it would always have something missing.

Also I would have to make a decent place to life and sleep in, a house. Sleeping in an empty cold cave high up in a mountain is not how I want to spend the rest of my days

The cave did have a great view however.

Maybe I could make a shelter in the cave, I mean I could never fit an entire house in there, but just one room with a wooden floor and a wall and door separating us from the outside. A decent bed would also be great.

Before settling down however which I never expected the day to come this soon, I would have to bring a visit to our guests of yesterday night. As much as I hated it, I needed her advice. What if Toothless just left one day deciding I'm not worth the trouble. That would get me stuck in a shelter 300 feet of the ground. Sure I trusted my dragon companion, but what do I know about dragons?

* * *

I could tell Hiccup was enjoying the flight this time around. He was strangely quiet, but not in a bad way. The thrill of flying always helps me clear my mind and see things in a different perspective, it might have the same effect on him.

Just to test the waters a little, I started doing a few little experiments while flying. Nothing too extreme. I slowly started flying a lot less balanced and stable. Hiccup did fine however, he was a natural at this.

 _"You might want to get a better grip now"_ , I warned Hiccup.

I started to slowly elevating upwards, that definitely got the message across as he held on with both arms. "I knew you weren't boring", he challenged me.

Boring?

Now aimed fully upwards, I started our rapid ascend, my powerful wings unleashing their full potential beating with incredible force. It wasn't long after that I started feeling the air around us cool down. Now I could go much higher, but freezing Hiccup wasn't my plan today.

"Uh Tooth-", before I let him finish, I slowly started going down again. Steeper and steeper until we were basically freefalling.

"THIS IS AMAZING", I could hear Hiccup shout over the sound of wind rushing by.

Before getting too close to the ground I started levelling off again, pushing Hiccup tightly against me by the change in velocity. So hard even I was afraid he might lose consciousness…

Well, at least he is breathing, which is probably a good sign.

I spotted a clearing not far from us and decided to go for a landing making sure Hiccup is ok. I elegantly touched down and waited for Hiccup to get off of me, but he did not. I lowered my left side and carefully let him slip off. He did not drop dead to the ground, but he definitely needed some time to calm down. So I carefully pushed him against a tree making him sit upright.

 _"Are you okay?"_ , I asked. I might have pushed it a bit for one of his first flights.

He looked up at me, "That was amazing"

I gave him a small lick, my way of showing appreciation, while amusing myself with Hiccups dislike of the gesture.

"You are amazing bud"

* * *

Did we just do that?

My heart was almost beating outside of my chest. Making a dive like that had to be the most awesome thing I had ever experienced. Scratch that, the most awesome thing any human being could possible experience.

My eyes were dry and everything was shaking from the adrenaline overdose I just had, but I was just fine. Heck I've never felt better.

I laid down on the soft grass, my head thumping, trying to recover slightly. If I died now, it would be totally worth it. My rest was soon disturbed by Toothless shoving me against a tree, forcing me to sit upright. I looked at her.

"That was amazing"

She gave me a lick, absolutely disgusting, but I didn't care.

"You are amazing bud"

Suddenly she froze. Her ears stood strait up, before snapping to left. Her eyes were like slits, if anything she suddenly became extremely scary. "What's going on", I asked in a whisper.

Following her line of sight, I saw it. Not far from us stood a deer, it was looking around itself. I wish I'd have shut my mouth, I probably alerted the creature.

I was pleasantly surprised that there would be a deer on this island, it was pretty big sure, but how did they even get here in the first place?

The deer moved a little further and started eating grass, unknowing of our presence. I looked back at Toothless who suddenly wasn't next to me anymore. Looking around me I couldn't find the dragon anywhere. It was like Toothless had vanished into thin air.

Oh god.

I knew what Toothless was up to and part of me really did not want to witness it.

Looking back at the innocent deer just eating grass. A small movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention. Toothless was a mere 10 meters away from it. Almost invisible using the shadow to her advantage. The fact that Toothless is capable of all this made me all the happier I was still alive.

I expected Toothless to make her move any second now and she did not disappoint. As I saw Toothless charge out of her cover I couldn't help but look away. I silently wished the poor creature escaped, but I knew better.

When I dared to look again, Toothless was already making her way back to me. A not very alive deer dragging after her, the vicious look in her eyes gone.

"greeeaat…" I expressed my gratitude in the least exiting way possible: "Just what we need". Toothless stood next to her prey, proudness just radiating off of her. "Just promise me you will never do that to me".

I was broken out of my trance by Toothless nudging me towards the deer. I guess this was normal to her and she probably expected this to be normal for me too.

I wasn't quite sure what to do with the dead animal. Leaving it here would be a waste, taking it to the cave is also off the list since I don't really like having dead animals in my bedroom.

"Not really what I expected for lunch bud", I told the way too happy dragon next to me. I really do prefer my meat pre-prepared. Toothless probably didn't even eat deer, as far as I know the dragon had eaten nothing other than fish.

But, this is the way it's going to be from now on. Everything that is usually done for me I would have to do myself.

The hide could be separated, cleaned and used for leather. Every Viking is taught to dismember an animal; even I had been taught, unlike the other pupils I hated the lessons, but now I wished I had paid more attention at the time.

I had no tools to work with, how was I even going to anything with the deer. Looking around me for anything that might help me, my eyes landed on one of Toothless's front paws. Those claws looked pretty sharp and with Toothless strength that might work.

I crouched down and put my hands on the dragon's front paw to lift it. "Mind if I borrow this?".

* * *

Hiccup didn't seem too happy with the deer I so kindly supplied. I wonder if Hiccup actually liked anything I get for him. His reaction didn't differ that much from last time when I got him a fish. I am pretty sure that humans are carnivores, so what was the big deal?

He crouched down next to me and tried lifting my left front paw to no extend. Curious about what his plan was I moved my paw in the direction he was guiding it. He positioned it over the deer, took one of my claws and moved it down. With a little added force, it pierced the deer's skin without any trouble.

I was pleasantly surprised with Hiccup's ingenuity.

The work was pretty messy, but I didn't mind that. I always kept myself clean out of habit. Hiccup however was looking a lot whiter than usual, not very happy doing this.

"I am so becoming a vegetarian after this", said a very disgusted Hiccup.

I had no idea what a vegetarian is, even though I know a lot of Viking speak. I halted my paw, _"What's that?"_ , I asked. Hiccup looked at me and as if he could read my mind answered that he wasn't eating meat again.

With the way things are going, maybe Hiccup doesn't even need to actually understand me. It was like we were on the same wavelength.

It didn't take very long before we were done with the deer. Using the now separated and cleaned skin as some sort of bag for the rest of the 'goodies' we went back to our little hideout.

Soon we would be seeking out the lady again, even if Hiccup doesn't want to. Maybe she is part of a dragon or Viking nest, anything that hiccup might be more used too. It was evident that the transition from living in a nest to out in the wild was too fast for Hiccup.


	9. Chapter 9

I sat down at the edge of our temporary cave home. Apart from the view the cave had very little going for it. On Berk I could happily spend hours in my room doing whatever came to mind, but here I had nothing.

I really missed my notebook. My (many) notebooks are like a summary of my life. Starting somewhere after the age of nine up till a week ago. The latest additions probably rotting away somewhere in the cave back at Berk.

I picked up a charred stick from last night's campfire and tried drawing something on the stone floor. To no avail however. I threw the stick out of the cave, ignoring the black marks it left on my hands, dirty as I already was, it didn't bother me anymore.

I was so happy I at least had Toothless. Toothless had just come back from doing whatever she did when she left and had decided to occupy the space next to me. I rested my arm on her shoulder, enjoying the close proximity to my non-human friend.

"You know bud; it has been so long since I've had someone I could call a friend.", I said while drawing circles on Toothless's snout.

I noticed Toothless's eyes locking onto something outside, following her gaze I saw a dragon flying our way, a four-winged dragon to be more specific. A certain dragon and rider I was not willing to see yet.

I nudged toothless with my elbow, "please don't tell me you brought them here".

Toothless let out a warble and moved aside, not wanting to get crushed by the giant lizard about to make a landing, I followed her example.

The landing was spectacular to say the least, the dragon first planted its feet at the cave entrance using its wings to stay balanced, before gently walking inside.

The massive dragon bent down and finally my mother revealed herself. Without a mask this time.

"Hiccup we need to talk".

* * *

Waiting for my son to come took a lot longer I expected. It had been two days now and still no sign of hiccup.

He probably hates me. What kind of mother leaves her child at such a young age and just expects him to be alright with it?

"One more day", I told Cloudjumper. "One more day and we head back home."

To no surprise however Hiccup did not show up the third day either.

As I was packing my things, I could hear wingbeats outside. I turned to look around the small clearing when I spotted the black dragon that was with Hiccup the first time we met.

* * *

I was no longer mad at my mother, but she still didn't feel like family. It was more like talking to a stranger.

"I wa- The dragon told us to come", she explained.

I gave Toothless a quick glance of betrayal, although now I could finally get some questions out of the way. Unsolved mysteries that have been bothering me for as long as I lived.

I attended my mother with a casual "hi" and gestured her toward a place she could sit. Not that it was any better than the rest of the empty cave.

My spot was next to toothless with my back against her. Something we had grown accustomed to.

"You probably have a lot of questions"

"Why did you never come back", I asked, "back to Berk"?

She looked down, evidently ashamed, "Do you want the short or long answer"

"Short"

"Because of Cloudjumper", she put her hand on the giant dragon next to her. "When Cloudjumper took me from Berk, I accepted my faith, I knew I was going to die, but somehow we befriended each other… I was stuck on an island with my only means of transportation being a dragon."

She looked at me.

"Hiccup, what do you think would happen if I came back to Berk with a dragon friend".

I let it sink in for a moment, what she said made sense, but there was one problem.

"So your dragon friend is more important than your only son?"

I noticed my mother eyes starting to get wet. Finally, something we had in common, well except from the whole dragons thing. Vikings don't cry. Most of Berks population didn't show any emotions, but my mother looked broken, unable to form a proper answer.

"Cloudjumper would be killed", she paused, "I would get exciled for befriending a dragon, betraying the people of Berk. There was no option in which I could have been there for you Hiccup. I didn't even know where I was"

For the first time since our initial meeting, my anger towards her was replaced by sympathy. Me in Toothless were in a similar situation, but staying away from Berk was probably easier for me than my mother.

"So… You can talk to them? Understand them? The dragons I mean.", I changed the subject.

I saw her face brighten up little bit when the conversation shifted toward dragons. "Not really, but Cloudjumper is a great translator"

I looked at the dragon in disbelieve, "It Speaks Norse?".

A small smile betrayed my mother features, " **He** repeats everything in very basic dragon speech", she said putting emphasis on the dragon's gender. "In my many years of living amongst them, I understand about as much as a hatchling".

* * *

We had been catching up for a while, it had to be at least two hours. Most of it about me and the village. I didn't hold back, I told her about my status in the village, the never-ending dragon raids, my job as Gobber's apprentice and my father.

In the time my mother was gone she had probably lost track of time. She had to ask me how old I was.

Now however, the topic was shifting to more recent happenings. More specifically towards Toothless. My mother had never seen a night fury before. And I couldn't even answer most of her questions about the dragon, I simply didn't have the answers. How long have I known Toothless, a week now? Maybe less?

"How old is she?", my mother asked me.

"I don't know"

The large dragon Cloudjumper decided to join. He warbled something at Toothless who had almost fallen asleep. Toothless opened one eye at the dragon giving a short warble back.

I looked at my mother who seemed to understand what the dragons said.

"I can't translate directly Hiccup, but she is about 1 or 2 years older than you", she told me: "dragons don't use years"

"Tell me Hiccup, how did you father react to your night fury friend?"

I knew this topic would come up eventually, while I had told her before about my 'broken' relationship with my father, I never said anything about how I ended up here.

"He doesn't know", I answered quietly.

"I was taken by Toothless during a raid once, but I returned. When I returned that day, I finally had an actual heart to heart conversation with my father, I would have stayed at Berk, but Toothless kind of took me away", I admitted.

"He doesn't know what happened to you?"

"I guess not"

It was silent for a moment.

"Hiccup you have to go back"

I was a bit confused by that comment, she didn't go back, how could she tell me to go back?

"I can't go back, Berk is at war with the dragons"

"No you shouldn't stay there, but your dad deserves to know you are alive", she said: "perhaps you should leave him a letter"

"But you don't understand, he is probably glad I am gone… He was embarrassed by me"

"You are the best thing that happened to him, he was the happiest man on Berk when you were born, please Hiccup, if not for your father do it for me."

I considered it for a moment, this journey would not be without risk. If I was to be seen in the village I would have a lot to explain.

"Okay, I will do it"

* * *

It was almost time to leave, we had planned to leave in the late afternoon. I would arrive at Berk when most of the village is asleep, leave my note and leave in the morning.

To shield me from the ever increasing cold, I was given some self-made clothes which my mother brought with her. Sure, they were way to large and looked awful, but they redeemed themselves in warmness.

"You ready bud?", I asked Toothless.

Toothless seemed very eager for the reasonably long flight, already bending down signing me to sit on her back.

"Let's say bye to mom first"

After a quick goodbye, we were off to the skies again. The weather was nice and clear and you could see for miles. It was amazing as ever. I was starting to become more and more confident on the back of Toothless. It felt almost like I belonged in the sky.

On our way to Berk we also made use of the opportunity to practice some risky flight maneuvers and tricks.

Soon it was fully dark, if planned correctly we should be arriving at Berk any moment now. I looked in front of me confident that Toothless knew which way to fly. In the distance, I could see light. The closer we got the more unusual it seemed, I had never seen Berk at night from this angle before, but there seemed way more light than expected.

I felt Toothless stiffen underneath me, something was not right. Shadows were obfuscating the lights in the distance every now and again. Then it dawned on me, there was a dragon raid going on.

Great, just great. The one day I arrive at Berk on a dragon and want to sneak into the village, there is a raid going on. I covered my face with one hand facepalming, this trip was going to take longer than planned.

We neared Berks signature carved out and fire wielding sea stacks, letting the incoming boats know they were on the right side of the island to go to the port.

Looking down at them my eyes were drawn to something next to them. A small island seemed to have formed there. An island with enormous scales apparently. Following the shape of the island I saw the head of the biggest dragon I ever laid eyes on.

Suddenly, all 6 eyes of the dragon snapped onto us.

"Toothless, lets head back", I urged Toothless scared by the creature below us. I held on a little better to compensate for the turn.

But Toothless did not react.

Without warning she suddenly made a rapid spin. If I wasn't holding on to her the way we did our tricks I would have surely plummeted to my death.

"Toothless STOP, let's go", I tried pulling on her neck, but got no response.

That's when my worst nightmare became true. The dragon I had entrusted my life to and actually felt safe with, tried everything to throw me off. While being trashed around, I screamed in the night fury's ears for it to stop, but nothing helped.

It was exhausting, it took so much strength not to fall off the crazy dragon underneath me. Strength I did not have.

Convinced that I was going to die this evening, I took one last look at the village I grew up in. It was really beautiful from above at night. Because of the dragon's movements, I also got a look at the shores. There was someone standing there, a figure I did not recognize, but I did recognize my bola launcher being operated by the person.

The next events all happened in a flash: The bola launcher fired and I let go of Toothless hoping the water would break my fall. But instead of escaping from the night fury's back I was now stuck on it, bolas tightly strapped around us.

Somehow not only had the person hit us, but my contraption had worked.

At least I got my redemption, we would die together now, I would die by something I crafted myself, which was responsible for bringing down the most exclusive dragon known to mankind. Maybe they will even have a proper funeral for me after such an accomplishment. Probably wondering why I was strapped against the dragon.

With incredible speed, we made an uncontrolled dash over Berk. We would not stay in the air for much longer, but at least I had time to say a mental goodbye to the world as we were about to crash into the forest behind Berk.


	10. Chapter 10

I woke up, but couldn't see anything. It was dark and everything around me seemed damp and wet. I tried to move, but my body refused. An agonizing pain shot through my body. Where there was darkness at first my vision became nothing but white.

I woke up. My head was pounding, somehow, I knew what was coming, my life was on repeat. I waited for the pain to come back, but instead my body was just throbbing, as if I was supposed to feel pain, but there was none.

I tried to move, but couldn't.

What had happened?

The ground beneath me began to move and the events leading up to this hellish experience came rushing back to me.

Why, WHY was I still alive. Was I alive? I had accepted death, I crashed with blazing speed strapped to an uncontrollable dragon.

All I knew was: I had to get out of there. I felt around me, my hand was soon met with the familiar touch of rope. I was tied down. Luckily these bolas are meant to trap dragons, but they aren't like nets, there was quite a lot of space between the gabs, it was meant to impair the movement of the dragons without allowing it to be burned away like you could a net.

I was however strapped quite tightly against the once so friendly dragon underneath me.

I couldn't move my head, but my right arm had a little bit of wiggling space, almost dislocating it, I managed to get it free and release a little tension on the rest of the ropes.

Toothless (if I should still call it by that innocent name) underneath me was also awake, quiet sounds of discomfort and pain were evident of that. However, I couldn't help but not care, I was way too focused to untie myself and getting the hell away from the thing.

It was difficult to express sympathy for the dragon which just tried to murder me by throwing me off at deadly heights.

I managed to get the rest of my body unstuck. I laid on top of the dragon, my weight leaning against the fins on its back, before I let myself fall to the ground next of it.

I wanted to run, get as far away as I could, but my body refused to move. I had spent all my energy as darkness fell over me once again.

It wasn't much later when I woke up for the 3rd time. Well I don't think it was much later. It was still dark, but you could see ever so slightly due to clouds making way for moonlight to shine. While still extremely tired, I forced myself to sit upright. My already ragged clothes were torn in several places.

I took off my top, something inside me knew how cold it was, but it did not register. My arms had strange long wounds, like it had been whipped, but with all the pine needles sprayed around everywhere and the trees around us, it wouldn't surprise me if we went through some trees.

I put my clothes back on and looked at the dragon in front of me, it was lying on its side and wasn't awake, but evidently alive. It too however did not get off easy, there where slashes all over, a pretty large wound over the chest.

I looked around me, there was dirt sprawled around me everywhere and a long trail of it behind the dragon. How the hell are we still alive, it was like a Viking ship fell out of the sky, staring at the trail of dirt something caught my eye, there was only one tailfin left on the dragon's tail.

Against all bitter feelings against the dragon in front of me, I felt sadness swelling up inside me. Sure, it tried to kill me, but it was as good as dead itself too now, well at least if we are on Berk. Heck we were both as good as dead.

* * *

I woke up once more, the human vines still tightly around me, restricting most of my movement, not that I wanted to move, but I had to check on Hiccup, I could smell him before, but it was a smell of fear and terror.

I opened my eyes slightly, there right in front of me was he, my fragile little (very beat up and angry looking) human.

What had happened, why couldn't I remember what happened? Why are these vines around me, why is my entire body hurting, why does hiccup look like he was attacked by a wild animal?

I opened my eyes fully, looking at Hiccup.

 _"Why?"_ , I asked.

He rolled his eyes, and looked down at the floor, my question had only upset him more.

"You tried to kill me", his voice sounded bitter.

Tried to kill him? what? No? why couldn't I remember what had happened? Nothing made sense anymore, trying to kill hiccup wouldn't result in me being trapped here, strapped down with vines in the middle of nowhere.

At least we were still alive, that's something, but I had to get out of these vines. I was, no, we were vulnerable, what if we get attacked now? Hiccup is not capable of fending of enemies and neither would I want him to.

But Hiccup is probably the last one to help me right now. With me apparently trying to kill him and all that. What if he wanted revenge, what if he is going to kill me. I tried to kill him, right? But he couldn't, I couldn't die yet, I had so many things left to do, like circling the world or expending the night fury family tree.

"Why?", it was his turn to ask now.

I looked him straight in the eyes, communicating with my little human wasn't really my strongest ability.

For the first time, I had no idea what to do or say, this would be the end of everything, my entire wonderful world came tumbling down and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I felt my eyes get watery, a sensation that was new to me, as I closed them a few droplets forced their way over my cheeks.

Time stood still after that, nothing seemed to happen, I didn't hear anything, all my senses seemed to be shut down, it was just me with my thoughts.

Suddenly out of nowhere I felt a small force on my head. I looked up, it was Hiccup, his head pressed against mine, streams of tears going down his cheeks. I wanted to apologize, hold him, do something, but I couldn't move.

"Promise something like this will never happen again", he said softly.

 _"I will"_

"You useless reptile"

* * *

Getting the ropes off of Toothless seemed impossible, they were way to tangled and it didn't help that Toothless weighed a lot more than it would seem, I'd have to cut them off.

I looked around me, a very sharp rock might do the trick, but finding one would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Instead a better idea popped into my head, my gear from when I first met the stubborn dragon probably contained a knife.

Next problem: where the heck are we?

Were we still on Berk? We probably are… Leaving Toothless immobile on an island with angry Vikings among other things, not an option.

I looked at the dragon in front of me, I could probably move some of the loser rope around a little bit, and I had some dangerously sharp claws and uncomfortably explosive night fury blasts to work with. It would require some teamwork, but was totally doable.

And so, I began project untie. "Move left little, no, the other left", would sum up the next half an hour pretty accurately.

Immediately after removing the last piece of offending rope, I was pounced on by the now free to move dragon, my body froze, my mind working rapidly trying to register what was happening. Was Toothless seriously going to kill me now, after all that just happened? But instead I just felt little nudges here and there, as my body started working again I tried to hold off the very concerned dragon above me.

"Toothless plea", before I could finish my head was moved to the left.

"Crazy dragon, stop, I'm fi", a massive lick went over my face, some of the dragon's spit getting into my mouth, which was disgusting in every way possible. Urghhhhh, I should have left the dragon tied up, anything better than this.

"Ewww ok, ok, calm down", I tried once more: "Toothless please, you are the one actually wounded".

When I was finally released I sat up straight, wiping my face clean with what was left of my left sleeve.

"Toothless it's just bruises nothing too serious, but you, can you still fly?", I pointed at where Toothless's tailfin used to be.

As if unaware Toothless moved her tail towards us, she made a small jump backward as soon as she saw the damage done and stood completely frozen, blank eyes staring at where the tailfin used to be.

"Toothless I'm sorry", I said, not getting acknowledged.

I slowly stood up moving between her and the tail.

"We will find a solution, I promise", I tried, but her focus remained on the tail, as if I was invisible.

I put my arms around her neck in what I guess you can call a hug.

"I will fix this"

I have no idea how long we remained like that, but a very unwelcome familiar sound found its way to my ears, I could hear the faint voices of Vikings in the distance.

Thank Thor Vikings are as loud as they are, but still we had to get the hell out of here and there was not much time.

"Toothless", I whispered.

No response.

I gave a few small tugs against the dragon's neck, "Toothless, please", I whispered a little louder this time.

That did the trick, toothless came out of her trance and shook her head a couple of times and in what I assume is a reaction to the group of Vikings, tensed.

The voices were now close enough that I could distinguish some of the individuals in the group.

I still had no idea where we were, but the best option right now would be to go the direct opposite of where the group of Vikings are. I whispered for Toothless to follow me and started a quiet run away from the Viking group, focusing on the ground in front of me as to not step on any tree branches.

Before I even made it 10 yards, Toothless threw me on her back with a maneuver she had become surprisingly good at, I had never sat on Toothless's back as she was running, and hopefully never will again. It wasn't at all like gracefully sailing through the air. I had to hold on with all the strength I could muster not to be thrown off.

With a little more distance between us and the group we slowed down to a way more comfortable pace. It wasn't much later that we arrived at the edge of the cove we met in, which confirmed two things: yes, we are on Berk and Toothless is really good at pathfinding.

I jumped off and found my way down into the cove, Toothless making a very slobby landing after jumping into it. I felt a pit in my stomach witnessing it. How the hell could I fix her tailfin… Would it just grow back? How long would that take?

I walked over to where my gear remained from when we left here, it seemed untouched, like time stood still. I checked the contents of the rather large bag, looking for some clothing in particular, but that must have slipped my mind when packing it.

My body was still very sore from all that had happened last night, so before doing anything too intense I took my notebook and pencil and went to find a proper spot to sit down. Looking around my eyes landed on Toothless, the normally overly energetic dragon now curled in on herself facing the wall of the cove. However, I decided against joining her, from my own experience I know how important it is to process a heavy event like this.

For now, a small and smooth rock near the pond would have to do. Too far away to interrupt the dragon and close enough to still leave a sense of presence.

It was time to come up with a plan.


	11. Chapter 11

Would this be the end of my crazy adventure?

I scratched my temples, I had been sitting in the same spot for a while now. What was I supposed to do? It isn't like I could just magically make the missing tailfin reappear, even Gothi, couldn't pull that off.

How difficult would it be to fly with just one fin, would it even be possible? Maybe with a counter weight?

Nah, that is stupid...

A couple of hours had passed in what seemed like nothing, it was starting to get late. I looked over at Toothless who hadn't moved ever since we came here. It dawned on me that this night was going to be my turn to get us something to eat. I had almost gotten used to the many regurgitated fish the dragon provided me with. It used to disgust me, but after thoroughly cleaning them it's not that bad.

What had become of me, I looked down at the cove's water in front of me, my reflection greeting me. I didn't really look like how I remembered myself looking. My hair was pretty long and messy, my clothes filthy and torn.

I would go to Berk tonight. And I don't mean just walking into the village, I had way too much to explain for that. No, I would have to make sure to remain unseen.

Berk is pretty messy, it wouldn't be difficult for me to not get seen. And I had one mayor advantage: because of the recent dragon raid a lot of Viking probably slept in the great hall because their homes would not be suitable. Combined with the fact that most of the villagers would be tired from working all day repairing the damage, meaning they will probably not stay up very late. And even if someone saw me, I might be able to play it off as proving myself in the wilderness, a lot of Vikings have done so at some point.

If possible I would get some new clothes, but my main focus was to collect some food for me and Toothless. Speaking of which, I actually have no idea how much Toothless eats, assuming eating is what she does when she is not around.

I stood up, my legs sore from sitting way to long, and walked over to the pitying dragon. Toothless did not react to me approaching, which is strange, the dragon is usually very alert and even the slightest sound I make is acknowledged with a little flick of her ears among other signs, but as stood next to her, it seemed as if she hadn't noticed me at all.

To get her attention, I placed my hand on the base of her left wing, but got no response. By her breathing I knew she was sleeping, but even during sleep the dragon was very aware of her surroundings. I felt a little guilty waking Toothless up, but I think I would be better than just leaving for Berk unannounced, who knows what could go wrong there.

I gently shook Toothless a little to wake her up, and wake up she definitely did.

-swoosh-

In the flick of an eye I was pushed against the ground a confused looking Toothless holding me down.

"Woah, calm down", I said voiceless from the tremendous amount of pressure on my chest. "Just me bud"

Toothless's pupils dilated to their normal size making her look a lot less scary.

"Need… breath"

I gasped for air as the heavy dragon lifted her paw from my chest.

"What was that all about?" I inquired more angry than meant. Toothless looked down guiltily, making me in turn feel ashamed by my sudden outburst. However, let's be fair, it is not every day you get thrown to the ground by a dragon about ten times as heavy as yourself.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have bothered you Toothless", I apologized. "Anyway, I'm leaving for a little bit".

"Remember my stories about Berk?", I asked Toothless getting a nod in return. "I'm going there bud, I'm going to get us something to eat"

Toothless was not at all happy with that idea, evident by her immediately (but without pressure this time) using her paw to pin me to the ground again making a noise which I had come to understand as no.

I put my hand on the offending paw.

"I will be alright, I promise. I will be back within an hour. Don't worry you're not the only one who's good at being sneaky", I argued, getting an unimpressed look from the dragon.

"Sneaky for a Viking I mean"

* * *

I had arrived at the edge of the forest, later than planned. The forest had proven to be really difficult to navigate with the little light left.

Sitting at the forest edge I scanned the village. Berk looked familiar, but it felt like I hadn't seen it for years. How long had it actually been? 40, maybe 50 days?

The dragon raid had been a big one, evident by the large amount of damage the town had. It had definitely received a good beating.

My dad's house was the closest to me, it is the highest house of the village, it being Viking tradition to have the chief's house overlooking the town. I felt an urge to go inside. What would have been done to my room? Was it a new arsenal for my father's many weapons. Would some of my stuff still be there?

Further down the village was the smithy, it was not directly visible from where I was, but the smithy could be easily spotted with the furnace releasing a lot of blackish smoke.

My eyes teared up a little, the smithy bringing back some of the sparse fond memories I have of Berk. The best times of my childhood had been in and around the smithy, Gobber letting me experiment, help and learn. Heck he had even given me my very own room in the back to work out my silly ideas.

The limping one legged blacksmith had been more like a fatherly figure than my actual dad, who was always too busy to take care of me. Limping… Gobber had lost his leg a long time ago and replaced it with a simple "peg leg" and even though he didn't walk perfectly ever again he could get around just fine.

Could I fabricate prosthetic a tail fin? I mean Toothless still had one tail fin, I could just mirror that one. But how would I make that any more than just a sad piece of leather hanging from the dragon's tail? Sure, the shape would not be impossible to mimic, but it would have to stay on, be sturdy, be controllable. Heck it should be better than the original.

And I did promise Toothless I would find a way to "fix" her.

The biggest challenge would be finding some way for Toothless to control it herself. It was probably going to be a lot more complicated than Gobber's simple peg leg. And even if I really decided to make a prosthetic, the only place I could get the appropriate tools is, well… here in Berk. And let's face it I would have to steal that too.

Even without him knowing Gobber was helping me… like always. And now I was going to steal from him.

But what else could I do besides trying to make a prosthetic? It's not like I could wish the tailfin back. And living in the forest of Berk for the rest of my life was definitely out of the question. The only other way to get out of here was to steal a boat and just run off.

Why couldn't things just be easy for once, heck I should have just left this cursed island forever, but noooo, here I am again, stranded, having to break into my father's village to steal materials so I can allow Berk's greatest enemy to fly again. It sounds insane just thinking about it.

My stomach rumbled. Right and I was going to steal food too.

Most of berk's food supply is stored in the great hall, as it's the easiest to defend there, but it could not hold Berk's entire winter supply, The winter supply is stored in multiple medium sized storage buildings scattered over the village. One reasonably close the my old home which in turn was easiest to get too, but with my newfound plan of making a prosthetic I would need some tools among other things, so a visit to the smithy was also on the list.

I uttered a quick prayer to Odin, just in case he was actually listening for once, but I doubt the Viking god would help me after teaming up with the enemy.

Well here goes nothing.

Getting to the smithy had proven to be a piece of cake. Most of the people where probably asleep and whoever was still up had no reason to suspect me running around.

The smithy was dark, the only light inside probably coming from the dying furnace.

I entered though the back door, a familiar warmth… well pretty extreme heat, welcoming me. After quickly checking for signs of Gobber, I went into the tiny room that used to be set aside for me. It didn't even have a door, but just a single curtain obscuring it from view. Inside, it looked like not even a single speck of dust had moved, it was precisely how I left it.

The first thing that caught my eye was my bola launcher design, I felt goosebumps appear on my arms, someone had used it, a contraption by Hiccup the Useless was used and had worked, ironically probably saving my life.

Originally I wanted to take some of Gobber tools with me, but looking around at my designs, maybe having a plan on paper first would be better, and with a plan I would only have to come back once more to get the tools.

Taking the largest ruler I could find, some pencils and some paper, I rushed out of the smithy. I was already going to be late, no need to waste more time.

Now for food. I had planned to take as much as I can carry in the hopes that Toothless doesn't eat too much and we will be able to plan the rest of this mess out without needing to worry about having something to eat.

I decided to take one basket with food from the storage closest to the forest edge and coincidentally closest to my fathers house, with the baskets being pretty hefty and making me a lot easier to spot, it was good to be able to quickly move inside the forest.

The shed used to be securely locked, but alas this one had not survived the dragon raid. Where once was a door, now was a gaping hole. However the dragons luckily didn't have the time to clean out the entire shed before flying off, so with the damage already done, who would notice some more supplies disappearing, or…. well, an entire basket?

I looked around for anything other than fish, but sadly this storage unit did not have anything else.

I tried lifting one of the remaining full baskets, but the weight proved to be way too much. With a long road back ahead of me and less than ideal walking conditions, I would have to take less. So I instead opted for a lighter basket.

I threw my items from the smithy on top of the fish and closed the basket before making my way to the forest edge. The way back through the forest was though, the basket was cutting into my shoulders and weighting me down a lot. And it didn't help that nothing looked familiar.

Luckily I had a general sense of the direction to the cove.

I couldn't help but feel slightly guilty for the fish I stole. The fishers of Berk were some of the hardest working folk around and food is pretty scarce if you take the average size of a Viking in account. Makes you wonder why the tribe never moved away from this dragon infested, cold piece of wet rock.

Entering the cove I dropped the heavy basket at the entrance, my shoulders feeling relieved. I looked over to where I last left Toothless, but she was no longer there. Huh, strange. Looking around, I couldn't see her anywhere.

Did she leave? Or…

I heard a rustling to my left, I tried to move, but my body refused.

I expected to be tackled by the dragon -something she had a lot of pleasure in doing at random times-, but not this time. With a thud Toothless appeared next to me.

"Hey bud"

Toothless had a worried look on her face and before I could protest I was being analyzed from every angle.

"Toothless please, I'm okay"

"Look I even still have all of my fingers see?", I said as I gave her a scratch behind her ears.

"You should have a little more faith in me"

I walked back over to my basket of goodies and picked it back up, Toothless close behind me. I couldn't remember the last time I was this hungry, I would almost consider eating uncleaned regurgitated fish.

With a light jog I made my way to the small cave that was our temporary home.

I signaled toothless to light the pile of woods I had set aside for a camp fire. Which she did using a continues stream of blueish plasma. It is always really cool and kind of unnerving to see the Night Fury use her blasts, something she actually does rarely.

From the basket of fish I took a small cod and a haddock for myself, I glanced over at Toothless, who didn't seem all that interested in the fish and had found a cozy spot next to the fire.

I moved the basked closer to the fire so I wouldn't have to carry the dead slimy creatures. Not being picky, I just took whatever was easiest to take from the basket, and put it on a small pile in front of Toothless.

Including an eel.

Before the fish had joined the pile with the rest, Toothless's pupils turned to slits and she recoiled in horror, ready to attack. As if the mere presence of the fish was a danger to her life.

It was kind of funny and I couldn't help but fail to retain my laughter.

"Really, the big scary Night Fury is afraid of a small fish?", I mocked her.

"It's a dead fish bud. What could it possibly do to you?", all that got me was an unamused look, but still Toothless carefully stepped closer.

Not to anger my companion I exchanged the eel for my cod. After which Toothless calmed down and took back her spot next to the fire.

I took my haddock and pierced it with a stick to hover it over the fire, after which I leaned back against the large dragon wrapping one arm around her, gently scratching one of her favorite spots on her neck.

To share a moment like this with Toothless was great, the loss of her tailfin had made a huge impact on the mental state of the dragon and she actually seemed somewhat content right now.

"During my trip today I might have found a way to get you flying again bud", I told her.

Toothless looked at me with big questioning eyes.

"A brand new fin, we'll start working on it first thing tomorrow"

Her pupils dilated more than I had ever seen before.

We held a stare for a good 5 seconds. I think. And before I could do anything I was overwhelmed by many licks from a very happy Toothless.


End file.
